


(I give) Everything but my heart

by Armatron



Category: Original Work
Genre: Angst, Danger, Death, Demon Deals, Demon/Human Relationships, Demons, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Relationships, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, Human/Monster Romance, Hurt/Comfort, Invasion, M/M, Mutual Pining, Original Character(s), Original Universe, Ownership, Pining, Politics, Possessive Behavior, Slavery, Slow Burn, Soul Selling, Violence, War, its demons so be ready, like hellgate demons, not your anime demons, or dnd demons
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-13
Updated: 2020-05-29
Packaged: 2020-06-27 09:09:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 14
Words: 69,359
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19787764
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Armatron/pseuds/Armatron
Summary: Jon is tired of everything, his family, his job, even humanity as a whole. When demons invade and his best efforts don't prove enough to either save his family or gain any respect from them he makes a desperate deal with a Demon Lord. I give you everything, my mind, body, and soul. The deal gives Jon a place of relative peace in a world gone mad far away from his family, responsibilities, and human companionship.Now Jon must navigate a blood thirsty world where power matters more than anything and even being owned by a Demon Lord doesn't promise safety. All the while Jon is struggling with the humanity he hates but is scared to abandon as well as feelings for his new master.To complicate things even further the Demon Lord realizes Jon has unintentionally kept a piece of himself free of the deal between them, his heart, and the Demon Lord won't be happy until he owns every piece of his new servant, even if he has to give his heart in return.In short: A misanthropic angst sells his soul to the Demon Lord of "has never felt a kind touch" and both have to navigate politics and bloodthirsty demons while dealing with their growing attraction. What could possibly go wrong?





	1. Demons, Death and Horror Oh my!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What starts as a normal unfulfilling day for Jon quickly turns deadly as a portal opens in the square outside his job. Fighting for his life he has to use his wits and every ounce of strength to survive the first moments of the a demonic invasion!

The summer was just starting to kick off, the sun hung lazily in the sky, the wind was fanning across the city, people were spending the best hours of the day with their families. But the day was overshadowed by an unsettling atmosphere. A languid feeling of unease that settled over me and made it difficult to focus on my job even from inside the restaurant, Linguine Palace, I worked at.

My mind fogged as I worked, placing bowls and plates on my tray with the ease of someone who has been working a job for too long. I took a moment to pop my shoulder before I wiped the table with a practiced flourish. I called the table ready over my headset before my tired eyes fixed on the square outside, watching the day and the world as it trudged past.

I watched cars drive in and out for a few moments before I felt a hand touch my arm. “Jon? We got a few tables turning.” I turned as David, a server here at Linguine Palace, pulled his hand away. I took a moment to focus on him and he frowned, “Are you ok? You seem kind of out of it today.”  
I blinked a few times to help come to my senses. “Yeah, I’m fine. Something just feels off today.” I said lifting my tray over my shoulder and grabbing the tray jack it had been resting on. David raised an eyebrow and rolled his eyes, turning away. My hand twitched to give him the middle finger but I settled for grasping the tray jack tighter and headed toward the back. I took small comfort that when he eventually quit I wouldn’t bother remembering him.

On my way to drop off my latest haul of dirty dishes I had to maneuver myself around the claustrophobic, yet brightly lit, kitchen. Three servers who weren't paying attention to what was happening around them, or maybe just not paying attention to me, blocked my path and I barely managed to get around them without dropping my tray on them.

I set the tray down with an oof and began to put the dishes on the counter for the dishwasher, I gave him a lazy wave, which he halfway returned, and turned away grabbing my newly cleaned tray. I stopped myself from looking at the clock as I passed it and headed toward the dining area.  
I just couldn't wait to get home, not that I had anything to look forward to when I got there, but marginally better was still better. I only had a couple hours left in my shift when I heard my manager ask me to come to the office over the headset.

When I got to the office, really just a room jutting from the kitchen where the managers stuffed all the papers and the safe, I saw Linda. Her hair had fallen out of its bun a bit as she hunched over the small desk scribbling furiously on a piece of paper. I knocked on the door and gave her a few moments to finish up before she turned to me.“So who quit or called in?” I said leaning against the door frame.

“Hey buddy,” she said motioning me closer with a politely forced smile, “Come on in.” I took a step further into the office, the din of the kitchen somehow muffled by the foot or so I crossed. She turned to me and rose from the dingy office chair and placed a hand on my shoulder. “So I had a last minute call in and I was wondering if you could work tonight.” her hand lightly gripped my shoulder as she spoke.

Despite my desire to head home as quickly as possible I knew if I said no that it wasn’t likely she would be able to get any of the other bussers to cover, they weren’t… reliable, competent, good at their jobs…but she knew that so she called me even if she had to risk overtime. I felt slightly irritated as my eagerness to please and keep my good standing with the management overcame my inherent laziness. I gave her my best smile, my lips twisted slightly upwards.

“Yeah I got it covered.” she relaxed marginally and immediately turned away, letting go of my shoulder now that she had successfully secured my help.  
“Thanks buddy.” she said over her shoulder, “I’ll be sure to buy you dinner.” It was an empty promise but it was a pill I was used to by now. 

“Sounds good.” I said quietly she didn't acknowledge my words and I turned to leave the office, my smile leaving faster than it came.

As soon as left the office I felt the strangeness in the air thicken. I shivered as the feeling fell off my shoulders and down my spine leaving me feeling wrong, like I had walked into someplace not quite earth.

I made my way into the dining room my eyes drawn out the window by some unknown sense. As I moved in almost slow motion I saw other people take notice of the shift in the air. Servers stopped talking to their tables and guests conversations quieted down as we all turned to the window. My tray almost slipped from my fingers as I waited, holding my breath for a reason I couldn't quite place.

The world outside seemed unaffected by the atmosphere everything moving in direct contradiction to the feeling nothing should be moving at all. Something between the sound of breaking glass and thunder shattered the silence and people screamed as a portal broke across the square. Filled with burning chaos and shadows, out of the maelstrom burst forth what I could only describe as demons.

They raced across the square and for the first few moments everyone could only watch the horror raging outside. We watched as cars were broken into and people dragged screaming from their seats only to die on claws, horns, or whatever twisted tools the demons held. Shoppers at the strip mall across the square ran screaming as demons chased them, purchases forgotten in the floor along with the people not fast enough to get away. The air quickly filled with the smell of smoke and blood even from where I stood indoors and I felt the urge to vacate my stomach but barely kept myself contained.

A few moments of silence filled the restaurant before someone screamed and everyone at once sprang into motion. People pulled out phones or began to run for the exit.  
As I watched, a ponderously fat woman lurched past me toward the fire exit. A moment later It registered what she was intending and I reached out and yelled for her to stop my movements slowed and voice muffled as if I was trapped in a ball of molasses

Either inertia or fear stopped her from listening because a moment later she was pushing against the door handle. Lights began to blare and the noise of the alarm almost drowned out the sound of people screaming and trying to escape. Across the square I saw a group of demons turn around, noticing the target that wasn’t right in front of them. One roared and the group ran straight for the restaurant. Now that I was moving I found I couldn’t stop I grabbed a man who had fallen and ripped him off the ground shoving him towards the other side of the restaurant where another fire exit, this one pointing away from the portal, was located.

I turned around to grab someone else and then a window shattered. I covered my face with my tray, the glass glancing of it harmlessly and fell to the floor. The eager demon that had just jumped into the restaurant reared back and roared at the panicking horde.

The demon was partially armored, protecting its chest and groin but revealing enough crimson skin to move freely as it raised a sword and brought it down on David. The weapon ran through his weak attempt at defense, cutting through his arm into his chest, blood gushed out of the wound and his death cry was cut short as his lungs were punctured. His blood splashed onto the demons two upwards curving horns where it then started dripping down onto its face. A tongue, too human to belong on this monster, wriggled out of its mouth to lap at the substance, making its chest rumble with pleasure.

It whipped its tail around to trip up a guest trying to run away from it and turned, arm raised to kill him as well. I was already moving as David fell tray raised and I smacked it across its face before it could finish off its next victim. More shocked than hurt, the blow made the demon stumble back a couple steps as another demon finished of the guest before running past us at someone else, the demon quickly recovered and we sized each other up. I struck it again but the demon raised its sword to block, its other hand reaching forward to take the tray from me.

It pulled the tray away and raised its arm to strike I let go of the tray and ducked under its arm and past the demon as it swung at me. Grabbing a wine bottle from the table behind it I turned and swung almost blindly hitting the demon behind the head. It stumbled forward and turned rubbing the spot I had hit with a snarl. It roared at me and I could see fire light the back of its throat.

It slashed at me again and I jumped back, hitting the table which made a glass fall to the floor, but I barely avoided being gutted by the creature. It stepped forward looking down at me as it raised its arm again. My eyes raced over its body looking for some avenue of escape. The sword came down just as I noticed another blade strapped to its side, far shorter but hopefully just as sharp.

Desperation flooded my veins with adrenaline as I dove forward, semi tackling the creature, my hands grabbing at the blade. It barely moved as I hit it but my maneuver caused the sword to miss, digging into the table instead. It pushed me back and I fell to the floor. I rolled back onto my feet with effort and gripped the dagger as hard as I could, my knuckles white and shaking. The demon barely registered the weapon, it actually chuckled darkly as it advanced as if amused by my struggle to survive.

Another demon roared from across the restaurant and someone screamed. The demon’s eyes glance toward the disturbance and in that moment I attacked. Ducking under its arm I drove my stolen blade into its unarmored side, the dagger sinking only a third of the way in before the demon shoved me back.

Blood, red to the point of being black ran down my dagger, the demon didn’t even seem to notice the wound other than the palm it roughly and bring the newly blooded claw to its face.

The demons face moved through a complex range of emotions starting at confusion and ending at anger. A moment later it chuckled and licked its hand clean of its own blood before turning back to me.  
I had never been in a fight before, adrenaline and luck being the only thing keeping me alive up until this point, but even I could see the way the demons stance changed and it looked at me like it was seeing me for the first time.

Done taking me lightly the demon advanced again, this time carefully. A low but eager growl left its throat, barely heard over the din of the still blaring alarms. I held the dagger up, pointed at the demon and took a step back. I kept track of the tables we passed, my years working here telling me I was headed for a dead end.

I stumbled over a body but barely managed to keep my feet and the demon took the chance to take a practice swing at me. I slashed at its sword wildly our blades connecting but it knocked my dagger away easily. The blow numbed my arm past the elbow but I managed to keep the dagger raised. The demon grinned as it realized I wasn’t strong enough to block its blows as well as being an amateur at fighting and it reared back for a charge.

Outside the restaurant the portal flared brightly. Briefly blinding both of us and from the portal came the sound a dull roaring mixed with screams. Risking a moment to glance I watched in fascination as balls of fire shot out of the portal first rising into the sky out of view and then falling to the ground hard enough to make it tremble.

The demon charged and I raised my dagger to block. Just before the demon could strike both of us were blasted off our feet and across the room away from the window as one of the fireballs struck the side of the Linguine Palace.

I woke up a few moments later, I could no longer recognize the room around me, the vaguely Italian design given over to a present moment fitting apocalyptic style. A massive hole let in a soft breeze that I barely felt as my nerves came back online. Slowly I registered a brand new assortment of bruises and cuts. I shook the worst of the dust from my dark brown hair, soot staining my skin gray from its normal fair complexion.

My arm screamed in complaint as I tried to move it but It didn’t feel broken. I almost fell as my right leg gave out on me but I leaned against the wall. Through the hole I could see the portal in all its glory. It seemed to have grown despite how little time had passed, even stabilized, the crude outer edges hardening from reality tying maybe into reality traveling fact. But what really drew my gaze was what was standing inside the portal.

Against the apocalyptic background of the portal stood a monster of a demon. The portal only stood a couple hundred feet away and I could tell this creature towered over me even more than the demon I had been fighting.  
Adrenaline shot through me as I remembered that demon. I ripped my gaze away from the Demon in the portal back to my surroundings, searching the rubble for my opponent. With the number of bodies, and fractions of bodies, that littered the floor I only noticed him once he began to move. He slowly began to push himself from his stomach up off the floor still grasping his sword firmly, I spared a moment to wonder if that was reflex or if he had trained to hold onto his weapon after a blow like that, before realizing my brain was trying to tell me I hadn’t managed a similar feat. My dagger was gone.

A brief survey told me I wouldn’t find the dagger before the demon had recovered but my eyes fell onto a broken timber that had once been part of the wall. Half a foot thick both ways with jagged edges the wood had been broken by the impact into an unwieldy four feet of bludgeoning potential.  
I grabbed the log and pulled almost falling over. I planted my feet and willed myself to lift through my still recovering senses. The log rose slowly as muscles that had never lifted anything but trays tried vainly to lift the wood which was only a little over a foot and a half shorter than I was. I finally stood it up and lift it over my shoulder.

With a roar of my own I threw it onto the demon, hitting it across the head and upper back, trapping its left arm under the wood. The demon grunted softly, falling back to the floor, but continued to get up, the wood thankfully hindering its progress.

It swung weakly at me, missing by a mile and almost losing its grip. Its ability to hold onto its weapon blunted by the explosion and blow to the head. I grabbed its arm and fought with it eventually managing to wrench the sword from its grasp.

Almost as heavy as the wood despite being a good foot shorter I nonetheless managed to raise it high. Tip pointed down I drove it into the back of the demon before me. It gave out a roar, blood slipping past its lips, and grabbed my ankle pulling me down. I stubbornly held onto the sword and it roared again as my fall wrenched the sword out at an awkward angle. I kicked off its hand and rose pulling my last reserves of strength I raised the sword and gave another roar of my own and swung the sword down into the creatures neck.

The sword sunk into the creature with a sickening squelch and crack as I hit bone. It stopped about halfway through the neck and I struggled to pull it out, demon blood oozing around the blade and staining the dirty carpet. The demon twitched for a few moments before coughing up more blood and going still.

I fell back, sword slipping from my grasp and I took a deep breath, coughing as the air dragged on my suddenly dry throat. I sat for a few moments listening to the ringing, now becoming aware that sometime during our struggle the alarms had stopped, only the echo remaining in my ears.  
I looked back through the gaping hole in the wall and a chill went through me as I realized the demon was still there.

The armor on this demon looked as expensive as it looked deadly, black and covered in details I couldn’t quite make out at this distance, it looked made to be noticed by ally and enemy alike, as if the size of the demon wasn’t imposing enough. The demon shifted, to turn more fully towards me flexing the wings that rose from its back, deep crimson skin stretched tight between bones that looked as thick as my arm. A tail twitched restlessly behind him, like a panther waiting to strike, it curved gracefully to a tip and was topped with spikes like obsidian. Two large horns curled out of his head twisting around to be almost as wide as his shoulders.

As my eyes traveled up its body another chill raced down my spine as I realized the demon was looking straight at me. It only lasted a few seconds, my brown eyes glued to his burning crimson, but it felt like we stared at each other for hours before the portal shuddered and spit forth another wave of demons who with much roaring and destruction mostly ran away from the Linguine Palace and the few headed this way moved slowly as the looked over the destruction, looking for survivors to torment.

The wave parted before the Demon Lord leaving the ground around him untouched save for two. Both demons were beautiful women and both walked with confidence that spoke volumes about their positions among the hordes.  
One was strawberry blond with armor that barely covered her body, more a metal bikini and made to entice more than protect. She walked with effortless allure as if she was witnessing a high society ball rather than a demonic invasion. Her horns, tail, and wings only added to her beauty. Accentuating her features and moving in a way as if to beckon anyone watching to approach her.  
The other demon stood tall and proud she walked with authority and contempt, killing a demon that dared come close to her as it raced from the portal. She shook the blood from her sword with disgust before kicking away the corpse. She wore full armor and her lack of helmet would seemed uncharacteristic if the look on her face didn't make anyone think twice before approaching, let alone attacking, her. Raven hair pulled back out of her way she watched the destruction with a critical eye her black feathered wings raised high behind her seeming ready to both intimidate and take flight depending on the opponent before her.

At the emergence of the demoness’ the demon lord turned away from me and I let out a breath. Standing shakily I turned away from the portal. I grabbed the sword as I walked past. Grimacing as my sore body screamed at me for exerting myself further. I ignored the feeling, I had to survive. I had to get home.

I limped from Linguine Palace. The sky was filled with the roars and screeching of demons and I could hear more roaring challenges and people screaming in the distance. The area around me seemed picked clean of both victims and predators so cautiously I made my way through the rubble of what had once been my home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Obligatory "this is my first story" criticism and tips are welcome. nonconstructive criticism will be ignored. Will update as often as possible each chapter will probably be of comparable length to this one so if mediocre writing and somewhere over 3000 words of slow burn angst fest is your jam this might be it for you.


	2. My best worst Idea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jon is having trouble getting home when he sees the demons are starting to take people prisoner, including his family! Forced to change plans he follows them to where they are trapped and, against their wishes, hatches a plan to get them out. Just one problem, the plan is so crazy he isn't sure he'll survive!

“Fuck.” I said shoving my phone back into my pocket. I was resting in what used to be a bank underneath the teller desk as the floor was too littered with bodies and bloodied cash for me to stomach hanging out in there. I could hear demons occasionally enter and sniff around the ruined lobby but they never entered far, boredom or another target pulling them away before they could find me.

My attempts to get home had been thwarted by the hordes of demons running throughout the city, as well as the last remnants of our police force and swat dukeing it out with the hordes.  
Out of breath and tired I had sought refuge in the bank and decided this was as good a time as any to try and reach my family over the phone, to tell them to be ready to leave or at least figure out if they were alright. Overhead I heard jet planes shoot across the sky followed by distant tremors.

“Just don’t drop a bomb on me, GI Joe.” I said, the military was starting to arrive but their efforts didn’t seem able to stop the demonic advance.

I heard screaming and pleading and peeked over the desk towards the large glass doors of the bank where I saw lines of people being pulled, dragged, and thrown together outside. The demons attending them fastened thick chains to their arms, connecting the group.  
That was new, every demon I had seen before seemed to have orders to kill first ask questions never but if they were taking prisoners… I tried not to think about the implications of what these brutal beasts were probably doing to people they didn’t kill immediately

As I watched a thin, sickly man broke away from the group and ran. A demon that looked like a bastard cross between a vulture and boar lifted a weapon to its shoulder, laid the man in its sights, and fired a beam of green energy that arced out and hit him in the back, burning through his shirt and chest and into a flaming car behind him. The man fell and a woman screamed an unintelligible name, struggling against her demon captors to go to the man's side.

The group now contained and pacified the demons began marching the bruised and weak humans back towards the portal. I waited under the desk until I was sure that the coast was clear and pulled out my phone again. I dialed my father's number and put the phone to my ear. “Come on, come on, pick up…” I said softly, looking back over the desk and scanning the room.

I listened to it ring five, six...eight times before cursing again and slamming the end call button. I had been trying to reach my father and siblings for a while now but no one answered. I wasn’t really surprised by my inability to contact them over the phone with everything going on. I bet the whole world knew something was happening by now and was trying to call loved ones or contacts here in Freetown, the irony of my cities name in this situation finally hit me and I barely suppressed a somewhat erratic giggle.

The demons had only begun the attack hours ago but already they seemed to have the entire city under their control. Slaughter had given way to enslavement as, apparently, the demon’s blood lust cooled. “In any case i'm not getting any closer to home just sitting here.” I said standing, having finished my short break I was ready to start heading home again.

I left the bank cautiously, keeping an eye on the sky. I had almost been caught twice now by flying demons ,only escaping because once they had found an easier target and the other time by running through an apartment complex, losing my sword in the process, and I wasn’t betting I would get a third lucky break.

The sun still shone in the sky but it was dimmed by a thick layer of smoke that had settled over the city, the wind only carrying the stench of burning and death. I covered my nose to try and block out the smell but my hand was barely an improvement now covered in grime and demon blood from my fight earlier.  
As I walked past I paused a moment to check on the man who had been shot. Briefly I wondered if I had ever met him before, Linguine Palace got hundreds of guests a day, he might have come in… I shook my head clear of those thoughts “It doesn't matter Jon,” I chided myself, “He’s dead and you will be to if you get distracted.”

I peered around the corner of a building, ducking back as soon as I saw a group of demons picking over the cars and going through the buildings on the street. The initial waves seemed to have caused most of the damage and the latter groups were being much more thorough about checking for survivors and pockets of resistance.  
”Not that we stood much of a chance.” I said before ducking back around the buildings side. From down the road I heard a mechanical rumbling and looked around the corner again just as a tank turned onto the street a block down.

A small group of soldiers followed behind the tank, the two groups didn’t even pause when they saw each other, the soldiers taking cover behind the tank or rubble on the street and opening fire with a shout. The demons roared in challenge and charged the soldiers, a few taking up positions and firing their own version of guns back.  
The air became filled with flying bullets and beams of energy. “Goddamn it.” I said ducking behind my corner as a bullet whizzed past, just my luck that the military would show up as I’m trying to sneak past.

The tank fired, taking out a burned out car and the demons hiding behind it sending the ruined vehicle and demons flying back in pieces. One demon wearing a wide, open, horned helmet and wielding a staff of some kind reached out its claw at the tank as the tank fired and cried out in an angry, guttural language.  
A ball of angry flame shot out of its claw hitting the tank with enough force to partially turn it and push it back, causing the tanks next shot to shoot wide into the side of the building I was hiding behind, the debris falling over the battle. Both sides ducked to avoid the shrapnel and I took the opportunity to run across the street behind the demons.

I only made it part way before they started firing on each other again and I took cover behind a car, it seemed the tank righted itself because it shot again, the road trembled as the shell made impact, and I ran from my cover into the building opposite the road. I heard a demon roar behind me but I didn’t look back and quickly the sounds of the fighting faded behind me, “The bastards would have magic wouldn’t they?” I asked no one in particular moving deeper into the building.

The building I was in seemed to have been an office of some sort, the cubicles abandoned, and an eerie feeling came over me as I walked through the empty space. At first I thought it was because I was sensing something about to jump out at me but eventually I realized it was that uneasy feeling from being in a school, or stadium, or other busy place when it's closed. Human minds so used to the thought of these places being full that seeing them empty filled us with dread.  
I found an emergency door, propped open by a crowbar, and made my way into an alley. Outside once again I could hear the battle raging on the other side of the building but beyond that only silence.

I left the alley and ducked behind a crashed minivan. The road seemed clear but already I had seen all kinds of demons, all with different means of killing or capturing humans, and I wasn’t about to head out until I was sure it was safe for me to do so.

I heard more rumbling and clanking and at first I thought the tank and soldiers had won the battle until I realized the sound was coming the opposite direction and headed toward the portal. I looked over the hood of the van at the mystery vehicle coming toward me.

It stood on a group of thick stubby spider legs that clanked against the concrete as it moved forward, something rumbled deep within the contraptions body, and on top stood a cage the whole thing made of a dark metal that seemed to absorb light, leaving the cage looking darker that it really was.  
Inside the cage a few dozen people were trapped some crying and yelling others sitting dejectedly on the floor and yet a few still fighting to escape, yelling and pulling at the bars in a weak effort to break them.  
Demons stood on top of the moving cage, looking over the streets for more victims, and mostly ignoring the already captured humans save for one scraggly looking demon with a long pointed weapon that occasionally jabbed at anyone that made too much noise. I ducked behind the van, partially hiding myself beneath it but making sure to keep an eye on the cage as it moved.

The spider cage passed slowly and I tried to keep my breathing low and quiet as it passed, holding it completely when a demon yelled out. The cage shuddered to a halt and the demons jumped down.  
They converged into a building and a few moments later returned dragging behind them a screaming women. Ignoring her cries they dragged her towards the cage. From my hiding place I watched the cage settle to the ground and the metal bars in the back break apart like some sort of gruesome mouth. A couple demons threatened the already captured people with weapons, daring someone to try and make an escape.

As the crowd rearranged to allow the new arrival and escape the thrusting weapons of their captors I saw two familiar faces, “Dammit I’m too late.”I said in a hush, my fists clenching, From underneath the van I could see, standing terrified against the far side of the cage, my siblings. Covered in dirt and still wearing her pajamas Alyssa, her mahogany pixie hair covering her eyes, was standing in front of Brandon my younger brother, dirt marred by tears running down his face as he gripped onto his older sisters shirt.

The demons closed the cage and settled on top of it again before the cage started up again with a shudder, the legs clanking forward. A heavy lump sat in my throat as I watched it pass holding my family, I didn’t know where my father was but I knew I had to get them out, “Just hold on guys,” I said from behind my cover as I lost sight of them, “I’m coming.”

As the cage moved down the street I followed at a distance, well aware I was headed back towards the portal and the Demon Lord. As we passed the street where the military had been fighting the demons I saw the tank sitting empty a hole in it side and smoke billowing from inside. Of the soldiers only the dead remained, probably taken by the demons after the fight.

The fact the military wasn’t doing well further darkened my mood and I quickened my step to keep up with the cage and leave the grizzly battle scene behind me.

The cage was almost back to the portal before it stopped for good in front of what looked like makeshift pens made of dark metal panels and strangely organic growths. The cage backed up against the enclosure and my siblings group was ushered out by demons with spears and into an opening that slowly closed into a series of irregular bars.  
The demons had converted an entire parking lot into large enclosures and at this point were busy stuffing them with as many humans as they could find. I waited as another cage emptied itself and more people were herded into the enclosure before daring to move closer.

Fear kept most people quiet but many were crying or begging to be let out only to be shoved from the entrances and walls by demons. I crept around the enclosure until I found an unguarded area with a space nearby to hide, with most of the demons focused at the front I was able to get right next to the enclosure wall without much trouble.

Looking around again for any demons I looked into a gap in the wall, the metal strangely warm and pulsing, looking for any sign of my family. I spotted Alyssa talking to someone just out of my sight for a moment before someone blocked my line of sight.  
I bit back from telling them to get out of my way, not wanting to make any noise until I was sure my family could hear me.  
A few moments later the person in front of me was called away by a woman out of my sight and I could see Alyssa again. One of her hands was holding tight to Brandon's arm the other wrapped around a familiar form in a hug.  
I allowed myself a short sigh of relief that my father was alright, relatively speaking, and with my siblings.

Checking if any demons were close to my position I put my mouth to the gap and as loud as I dared called out, “David, Alyssa, Brandon!”. Brandon noticed me first and pulled on Alyssa’s arm to get her attention, pulling away from David, my father, she leaned down so Brandon could whisper in her ear.  
Her face scrunched up before her mouth fell open, her eyebrows raised as she searched the wall. I wiggled my fingers in the gap to get her attention and the three made their way over to me.

“Who's there?” My father asked sitting with his back against the wall next to the gap. Alyssa sat across from him with Brandon in her lap, pretending to comfort him by whispering in his ear.  
“Jon is that you?” she said holding Brandon close but looking at me.  
“Yeah,” I said, “Are you guys alright? I saw you in the cage and followed you here.” Alyssa nodded but her lips remained tight.  
“We’re as good as the circumstances allow.” she said, “They got me and Brandon at home. We didn’t even know anything was wrong. Just a bunch of sirens blaring across the city then theses, these-” She paused to take a shuddering breath, a tear falling down her cheek, “these...things broke down the door and grabbed us.”  
“What about you?” My dad interrupted, his eyes searching the crowd for anyone getting too curious about what they were doing by the wall, “I thought you were at work.” I paused before answering remembering the moment the portal cracked open.  
“I was,” I said not really looking at them anymore, my throat dry, “It happened right outside. I watched them show up. They...I…” I shuddered and cleared my throat, “I got lucky, escaped. What about you dad?” He harrumphed and shrugged against the wall.  
“I was driving home when this bastard,” Alyssa covered Brandon's ears and glared at him. He rolled his eyes and crossed his arms,”when this creature,” he corrected looking at Alyssa for approval before continuing, ”slammed into the side of my car. Big one too, walking around on all fours with tusks like you wouldn’t believe,” He sighed and rubbed a sore spot just over his shoulder, “ anyway I was banged up pretty bad and they dragged me out of my car. Put me in one of those spider cages and threw me in here.” he turned enough to look at me through the gap but still keep an eye on the crowd.

“Jon, listen,” he said, his tone rough but earnest, “You need to get out of here. Tell the government, the military, hell, tell those coots with more shotguns than sense what's happening here.” he turned fully to me for a moment, his eyes hard and serious. “One of us has to get out of here before these things go any further” I shook my head my throat closing as I tried not to let tears overcome me.

“The military is are already here dad,” I croaked out, “They aren't winning. I saw a tank, some soldiers. I left before I could see it all but when I was following the cage Alyssa and Brandon were in I saw them again,” I paused again, “They lost. Tank got busted up real bad and any soldier that wasn’t dead probably got carted off like you guys.”  
My dad and sister’s faces fell and for a moment none of us spoke. I coughed a bit and swallowed back my tears. “I got a plan. I’m going to get you out I-” my father grabbed my hand through the gap.  
“No.” he said firmly, “I don’t know what your planning but you can’t risk yourself. You can’t kill these things.” His dismissal of my idea stung a bit and the stress of the day got to me as I responded, “I’ve already killed one.” I said, a little louder than I intended, we both went quiet and looked around, me from my side of the wall and my dad from his, once we were sure that no one had heard me we continued. “They can die dad but I have a plan.” It was a lie but of the four of us I was the only one in a position to scheme and I wanted to keep their hopes as high as I could.

“Jon you need to get out of here.” Alyssa piped in, Brandon looked from face to face as we talked, not quite old enough to understand what we were talking about but old enough to know it was serious.  
“Even if you did kill one can you look me in the eye and tell me you can do it again?” she continued, her tone a little snide but mostly worried, “How about three times? Ten? A dozen? How many of these things can you kill? They’re all different! You’re better of running and getting help.” I swallowed my words and looked away, my dad let go of my hand and resettled on his side of the wall. I knew I couldn’t kill all the demons. I also knew I wasn’t leaving until I got them to safety either.

“Jon I know you want to help, but you can’t.” my dad said with a sigh, leaning back against the wall away from me. “I’m glad you’re alright but you shouldn’t have come back when you can’t do anything. You need to go.” At that point Brandon got up and came to the gap, interrupting my dismissal.

“Why are you out there?” he asked reaching his arm through the gate at my face. I caught it and started rubbing his little hand with my thumb and smiled, it was weak but his face relaxed a little.  
“Hi Brando,” I said as lightly as I could, “I didn’t get caught, I’m too quick for them.” He smiled at me before his face got serious.  
“You said monsters aren't real.” he said with a pout,”but monsters grabbed me and Lissa and now we are stuck.” I laughed a bit and squeezed his palm.  
“I’m sorry buddy. I really thought monsters weren’t real.” My smile fell a bit and I looked straight into his face. “I’m going to get you out,” I gave my father and sister a look before they could interject and they reluctantly sat back to let me finish, “I need you to stay strong for Alyssa and Dad ok?” He nodded bravely and stuck out his chest, "Im the bravest! I can do it!" he said a little louder than necessary and Alyssa quickly shushed him.  
“Thanks buddy.” I looked around me, the coast still clear I leaned back in for a few last words. “Now don’t worry I’m not going to let any of the monsters hurt you. That’s a promise.” I said my goodbyes to my family and quickly backed away from the enclosure.

I found a turned over truck to hide behind and fell to the ground as tears started falling down my face I covered my mouth to muffle the sobs.  
I would get them out. They would be safe. My tears clouded my ability to come up with plan so after a few moments I cleared my eyes and throat with my sleeve and a cough, pushing those feelings away where they couldn’t distract me.

I couldn’t get the military. From what I saw they had their hands full just trying to contain this shit show let alone start rescuing people from the middle of demon occupied space. I couldn’t break them out of the enclosure. There was no way I was breaking through the walls, going over the wall wasn’t possible without being noticed and the damn enclosure looked like it grew straight out of the concrete so no way in hell I was going under.  
No help, no escape, and I barely managed to kill one demon let alone the dozen or more guarding the enclosure and any other demon we would meet trying to leave the city.  
I struggled with my lack of options, going over everything I had seen today and wracking my mind for any clue to the proper course of action.  
My mind finally latched onto a plan, can’t fight, can’t run, can’t escape. There was only one thing left I could try, if it worked it would guarantee my families safety. If it didn’t...I would be thrown into the enclosure with them, or killed...probably killed.

Every movie and book and story I had ever seen, read, or heard played in my mind telling this was a bad idea.

It was time to make a deal with a demon lord.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Demon Lord and Jon meet officially next chapter. What did you guys think about his interactions with his family? His dads 40ish Alyssa a few years younger than Jon (who is in his low twenties btw) and Brandon is in the 5-9 year range. I am actually curious if you guys thought that was obvious based on how they spoke and acted. Anyway constructive criticism is appreciated is anyone excited for our first encounter?


	3. The succubus, the human, and the Demon King.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jon gets back to the start of the invasion to find the Demon Lord and follows the Strawberry blond succubus into the portal. she catches him and decides to insert him into one of the games she plays with the Demon Lord, leading him to his lair where he can finally make his pitch. That is, if the Demon Lord doesn't kill him before he can speak.

It was difficult not to feel a little dejected returning to Linguine Palace, I entered the ruined building and hid out for a few moments in the kitchen. Even though I would never wish death and destruction on Freetown, if I had the choice, the part of me that hated customer service had been enthusiastic at the thought of never come back here.

I didn’t plan on staying long, just long enough to scope out the portal in my search for the Demon Lord, but I unintentionally discovered the fates of Linda and many of my other coworkers who had helped make working here bearable even though we weren't close.

“Guess you don't need me to cover anymore.” I said softly, closing the office door as quietly as I could. Linda had basically lived in the office so it seemed right.  
The first thing I did after entering the dining area was check if the demon body was still there. It was strangely comforting and disturbing to find the body hadn’t moved at all since I left it only a few hours ago.

Out of the corner of my eye I spotted a reflection, and clearing away some rubble, I found the dagger. The dying light outside caught the blade and lanced spitefully in my eye, probably in retaliation for leaving it behind. I held it absently before letting it fall again. It clanged dejectedly against the floor and I turned away, the dagger hadn’t helped before and I didn't think being armed would aid my case if I was trying to make a deal peacefully.

Chances were I would be killed or captured before I even approached let alone made my pitch, but I was trying not to dwell on that.  
I hid behind a portion of wall that had survived the blow from the fireball and watched the portal. It hadn’t changed much since the last time I saw it but that was hardly a comfort and another group of demons left the portal but instead of breaking out in random groups they headed as a single unit in the direction of the enclosures.

My eyebrows furrowed as I watched them leave. Now I had to worry about if I was too late to save my family. I had no idea what those demons were going to do when they got to the enclosure but I didn't think it would be good for anyone. I watched the demons until they were out of sight before searching the square for anymore threats or a sign of the Demon Lord. The memory of his gaze froze me in place for a moment, despite the distance between us he had managed to floor me completely, the sheer weight of his gaze, the burning...like watching a forest fire just far enough that you could feel its heat without burning away.

I squeezed my eyes shut for a moment and shook my head, counting to ten. I couldn’t let myself lose control when I finally found him, I wasn’t eloquent at the best of times and I couldn’t risk losing my voice from fear in the middle of talking. The eyes flashed in my head again leaving a strange feeling in my stomach.

I caught movement from the direction of the portal and watched as the strawberry blond demoness sauntered toward the portal. Her hips curved as she walked and her tail waved behind her as she entered the portal, twisting on itself in a beckoning motion before slipping into the portal and out of sight.

I watched for any other signs of demons and finding none dared to approach the portal. It was the most likely place to find him. The Demon Lord hadn't been too keen to join into the destruction directly and I doubted he would be quiet or subtle if he had joined in after I left. The trail would be too easy to spot and follow.  
I carefully made my way across the square, ducking under overturned cars, and dipping into craters where balls of fire had broken the earth.  
As I approached the portal I became aware of a low droning that settled deep into my soul. The sound filled my ears, making it hard to concentrate and I realized it was emanating from the portal itself, it reminded me of the feeling I had gotten just before the portal opened early today. Strange, it seemed like it happened so long ago.

I realized I was standing right in front of the portal now and the swirling colors and shadows filled my vision. I reached out to touch the portal before pausing. Was this the best idea? What if the portal stopped anything but demons from moving through?  
What if the Demon Lord wasn’t on the other side but off causing destruction here on earth? What if he doesn't… I suffocated the last question with a grimace. No point in doubting myself now.

I took a breath and reached out a hand only to be surprised about how little I felt. My hand had disappeared into the chaos which rippled slightly around the disturbance but it didn’t actually feel any different from waving my hand through the air. My mind boggled at the lack of sensation for a moment before I heard a roar behind me. I didn’t need to look behind me to know I had been spotted and with no choice but to continue I stepped into the portal.

I was blinded for only a moment before stepping into what appeared to be a large empty room. Looking behind me I saw the same chaos as the portal on earth but contained within an archway of dark stone and at the top a red gem glared brightly down at me. I inspected the room but couldn't find a door or window only six walls like a hexagon, each wall covered in murals of demons marching through the archway into new and strange places.

On one wall the arch led from a broken plane of fire and obsidian mountains to a realm of what looked like floating cities, golden winged beings fighting the invading demon forces.  
On another wall the portal led to a forest of trees far larger than any I had seen or heard about on earth, arrows arcing at the hordes from hidden assailants. The other walls were similar, showing the demons invading a massive cavern, a world of glass, even an ocean.  
The last wall depicted the demons invading a realm that looked similar to the one they were invading from, even the defenders looked like more demons.

Despite the differences in the walls depictions all of them featured the same individual. Cutting down a winged women with arm raised in silent plea, shooting a stream of flame at the forest, on every wall leading the charge or fighting the leader of the opposing forces stood the Demon Lord.  
The walls were painted with startling detail, I could see miniature demonic skulls forged directly into the Demon Lord’s armor, and the way blood almost constantly dripped from their mouths. I could even make out tiny glowing runes etched into his sword, constantly wreathed in flame, a large two handed weapon that grew thicker towards the end with a glowing black gem inlaid near its tip.

A pair of arms wrapping around my shoulders was the only warning I had that I wasn’t alone. A thin spaded tail wrapped around my thigh and a pair of wings partially entrapped me fully in the demoness’ embrace. She stood over me by about a foot her hair cascading down my shoulder as she lowered her head over my shoulder to look me in the eye as the scent of brimstone, blood, jasmine, and something sweet filled my nose.

“I almost thought you weren’t going to come.” she said with a smirk, her tone playful but also mocking. She changed positions to pull me tighter pulling me flush against her into an awkward spoon, all of her...assets… digging into my back.  
I struggled against her but she held tight, barely noticing my efforts. Her large full lips fell into a pout that didn’t quite reach her eyes, which still wrinkled in amusement.  
“Come now,” she continued, grinding against my back lightly, “Do you really want me to let you go?”  
“Yes.” I said tightly, trying to ignore the way her hands groped my body  
Her hands traveled from my chest to my stomach and her tail tightened and loosened rhythmically.  
“Such a pity.” she said pulling me tighter for a moment before finally letting me go. I ignored the disappointment that lanced my chest when she stepped back, allowing me to turn and face her. The demon had one of her arms pressed underneath her bust, pushing it up as if it needed the help, her other hand was resting against her face, index finger tapping her top lip. Her eyes narrowed slightly.

“No,” she said finally looking me over furtively, “You aren't here for me.” she cracked a smile. “Are you here for Slera?” she asked, a giggle escaping her throat as she spoke, “She hasn’t torn any would be suitors apart recently. She’ll never admit it but she enjoys killing them the most.” before I could answer her eyes narrowed again.  
She took a step forward, her face mere inches from my own, scanning my face and staring into my eyes like she could see my soul.  
She probably could.  
Surprised by the intimacy I tried to back away only to find she had at some point backed me into the wall.

Her face was a perfect oval with wide hungry lips and a tastefully petite nose. The kind of face I had seen photo shopped onto fashion magazines and celebrity endorsements for years but now that it was in front of my face all my memories of those photos seemed flawed somehow, incomparable to the face before me.  
Her eyes were a slowly turning mix of crimson and magenta, a low light behind her eyes illuminating them softly like smoldering embers with two adorable red horns gracefully curving from her hairline, acting as natural buffers to the strawberry blond locks of hair that would otherwise coyly hide her face.

It was perfect and beautiful and the dream of anyone attracted to women anywhere but it felt wrong at the same time. She smiled again, this time like a predator and laughed.  
It was the laugh that broke the illusion. It was dark and spiteful and mocking and the part of me that had hated high school rankled at the familiar sound. She stopped and looked back down at me, one of her horns had failed at its task so that her face was now partially hidden as she looked over her shoulder at me, thumb to her lip in a smile.

“You’re here to see him!” she exclaimed, still smiling, “No one has wanted to see him in a long time.” her eyebrows narrowed slightly and she frowned a bit, “That's not quite right,” she said, “many people have vied for his attention.” she looked me over and scoffed before adding with a smirk, “just...no one like you.” she said gesturing in my direction.  
I wasn’t sure if the comment was intended as an insult but it partially worked and I felt a blush lightly dust my cheeks in embarrassment and anger.

“You’re talking about the Demon Lord, right?” I asked and her face lost all its mirth. She stood straight and glared at me a moment.

“Demon King actually.” she stated, eyes narrowed again, “but you couldn’t know that...” she said to herself. She reached forward with a hand, the other returning her hair over her horns, and pinched my cheek. “Now what could a clueless little thing like you want with the Demon King Deralyct?” she asked. I managed to remove her carefully manicured claws from my face before saying in a huff.

“I’ve come to make a deal.” the loss of interest in me was palpable, she leaned back and looked away from me and lifted a hand to inspect her claws and her lips pulled up into a sneer.

“Oh really,” she said, tone dry, “Power or wealth or some such correct?” she rolled her head back over to me her next one over of my body less impressed, “Or maybe you're here to offer your service as a member of his cult?” I stood straight and puffed out my chest, crossing my arms and glaring right back.

“My family is locked up in your cages,” I said turning away from her toward the walls, which just so happened to contain the scene of demons invading the flying cities. My eyes looking straight at the Demon Lord...King, Deralyct I suppose, as he raised his sword over the helpless women before him. “I-”  
“You want mercy?” she asked, her interest slightly piqued again, “My master isn’t known for mercy child.” she said, her voice poorly mimicking pity.

“I don’t want-” I said over my shoulder at her before sighing and lowering my voice and turning back towards the wall, “I want to make a deal for my family’s safety.” I didn’t hear a reply and looked over my shoulder. The...succubus seemed positively floored by my words. Her mouth open in an adorable O, her claw inspection forgotten.

“Oh.” she said shortly, I watched as a wicked smile slowly rose over took her face, her wings rose and she fanned herself lightly and she leaned forward over me, “Oh…” she said again, this time her voice low and sultry.  
The look on her face left me feeling uneasy and I turned back towards her fully, realizing she had taken on a predatory stance. In a flash she was pushing me against the wall her hands clasped on my shoulders.

“Your here to buy your family's safety then,” she asked her hair fallen in disarray again, “what are you going to offer?” before I could say anything her palm was against my mouth, preventing me from speaking.  
“Before you answer,” she said, slightly more serious, “know that Deralyct isn’t a Demon King of half measures. If he feels for a single moment you are wasting his time he will break you, slowly, painfully, and” she said with a smile taking a hand from my shoulder to make a fist like she was crushing a bug, “He might even continue to take his frustrations out on the family you sought to save.” the fist relaxed and she reached out her palm cupping my chin and forcing my to look at her. “So,” she said, “What are you going to offer?”

I didn’t understand this women. Her mood changes at the flip of a hat but at the moment it almost seemed like she was going to help me. Although I was wary of some sort of trick I decided it was best to answer her question.

“Anything he asks of me.” I said. Her lips pursed for a moment before she shrugged. She gave me another once over her tail twitched restlessly behind her.  
“That will have to be enough.” she said. Not waiting for me to answer she reached over my shoulders and pushed on the wall behind me.  
I fell to the floor as the wall, door, opened and she walked past with a huff of laughter this one sounding much more amused than spiteful. “Follow me,” she said with a twinkle in her eye, “and for your sake,” she continued, “don’t get lost.”

I followed her closely as we passed through hallways and rooms of dark splendor, the walls were all made of the same dark stone as the archway, the floor was made of black tile inlaid with specks of gold that scattered patterns of light as we walked across them, the tile only broken up by the occasional carpets that looked like they were made of precious metals and silk.

The gold accented many of the columns in the walls we passed and our way was continually lit by torches of multi chromed fire, blazing from crimson red to a ghostly blue, and opulent crystal and gemstone chandeliers hanging high from the ceiling.  
At first the walls were broken up by the occasional window or balcony letting in an unsettling natural light and from my brief glances between curtains I saw a hellscape of red sand and obsidian spikes roasting under three dim suns stretching before a massive Palace surrounded by walls and towers of black stone.  
Eventually the succubus led us away from the windows, deeper into the palace where only torch and chandelier light revealed the way.

Artwork and sculptures dotted the walls and the carefully placed tables that stood at the sides of the hallways, their beauty only marred by the mostly horrifying images and creatures they depicted, my gaze was drawn towards a sculpture of a three eyed humanoid head, its silver hair and opal skin glowing from within a dome of crystal, until I realized it wasn’t a sculpture at all when all three eyes opened to look at me, all of them the same blazing orange of the sun.

We passed many demons, most in armor but others wearing expensive tunics or robes and all of them armed in some way. The only demons I could see that didn't have weapons gave off an aura of power that made me feel like they were more dangerous than the others. They mostly ignored me and the succubus as we passed, a few bowed to her or growled hungrily at me, and I kept the distance between me and my escort short to deter any thoughts of snacking.

I was jogging lightly to keep up with the succubus who walked without pause through the maze of hallways and chambers.  
“Seems like an odd place to stage an invasion from.” I said quietly, desperately trying to keep up with her surprisingly quick pace and take in all of the splendor around me. I heard an amused scoff from in front of me and the succubus looked over her shoulder.

“Hardly,” she said, “I was trying to draw you into the portal. I couldn’t have you jumping into the staging fields unannounced so I changed where the portal led when you walked through.” she turned ahead, “Slera would have killed you the moment you appeared otherwise and I wouldn't have had any fun.” she said softly, her pout audible, "she never lets me play my games."

“I take it Slera was the dark haired demon that came out with you when the invasion started.” I said, hoping to get a little more information. She stopped for a moment and looked back at me in surprise.  
“How do you know that?” she asked, eyebrow raised.  
“I was working when the portal opened,” I explained, “I watched it all happen.” my voice faded to a whisper as I talked.  
The portal opening, the demons, the demon I’d killed. She gave me a few moments of silence before turning and starting to walk away again. I jogged to catch up behind her before she responded.

“I thought all the humans around the portal died,” she said nonchalantly, a hand gracefully fluttered over a sculpture of a demon holding up a decapitated head that looked like it was made of rubies, “How did you manage?” it was almost conversational but I could hear a hint of actual curiosity, and a little sarcasm. I shrugged even though she couldn’t see it.

“I killed a demon.” Her step faltered for a moment before she continued walking.  
“Is that so?” she asked all traces of curiosity and sarcasm gone replaced by an even tone that refused to reveal how she felt. “However did a little thing like you manage that?”  
“A fireball hit the building and I ended up with the sword.” I said, keeping the story short. She nodded as if that made complete sense and kept walking.  
Just before we rounded a corner she paused and peeked around it, as if she was afraid someone might catch her, she placed a hand on my chest to keep me still. After a few moments she turned back towards me.

“Listen close.” she said, dead serious for a moment, “This is as far as I go. Through that door is Deralyct. Demon King Deralyct. Say it.” I copied her and she pursed her lips, “Try to sound less confused and more respectful when you speak to him,” she corrected, “other titles that may be acceptable are Master, My Liege, My Lord of War, you know any thing that flatters his superiority and prowess as a conqueror.” she was speaking a little fast but I caught most of what she was saying.

“You are going to go to the door. Knock loudly but don’t pound on the door and if he doesn't kill you immediately he might let you in. If he doesn't,” she shrugged, “just find your way back to the portal I guess.”  
I raised an eyebrow at her which she gracefully ignored before turning her attention back to me fully. “You are lucky, with a new conquest underway Slera is usually at his side planning initiatives. She will kill you the moment she sees you if you haven’t struck a deal before she finds out you're here.” she said before adding, “also because she isn’t here it probably means Deralyct is in a bad mood and sent her away. But even in his best moods he doesn’t have a lot of patience so remember, be respectful, keep it short, bow or kneel and don’t do anything stupid. Any questions?”  
I nodded, my mind latching on the fact she breezed over the possibilities of me being killed immediately or getting lost in this demon palace if he doesn't answer the door. But one really pressing question burned in my mind.

“Yeah,” I said, “What's your name?” she blinked before letting out a laugh, almost genuine but still laced with a little scorn.  
“It’s been so long since I met someone who hasn’t heard of me,” she said breathlessly after her laugh died down, “My name is Allura, Spy Master and second in command of the Demon King Deralyct’s unholy legions, the Forsaken Princess herself.” she bowed gracefully from her hips before righting herself. “And you are Jon, the boy who just might survive meeting both me and the Demon King.” she said before I could introduce myself in turn patting my cheek as she walked past, calling over her shoulder. “I always do my homework.” she said cryptically, as if that was an explanation for knowing my name.

“Wait,” I called after her, “why are you helping me?” she turned around walking backwards and smiled, blowing me a kiss.  
“Because I think you might be the most fun thing in this castle at the moment.” she said before disappearing around the corner leaving me alone in a splendorous palace filled with monsters and no way home.

I stood for a moment in the hallway unsure if I should continue. I had known my chances were low but even with the help of Allura I wasn’t feeling like my chances had gone up at all. Her last comment left me thinking that I was some sort of toy to her or that she was poking a wild dog with me as the stick. That said I didn't really have much of a choice so I took a deep breath and went around the corner.

I half expected to be greeted by more hallways and chambers like we had passed through before but it was obvious what doorway I was supposed to enter. The doors, at least fifteen feet tall and ten feet wide each towered in front of me. In contrast to the opulence of the rest of the palace, this hallway was barren of any paintings or artwork and no chandeliers hang from the ceiling.

Even the torches seemed plain though I had no doubt they were still magic, but the light they shed seemed made more at home in a dungeon than a palace and I realized even the floor and walls were subtly different. The same material as the rest of the castle but lacking the gold that reflected the light back around the room, leaving the whole hallway feeling empty. It was empty I realized no demons of any kind stood in the hallway, not even guards.

Two massive metal braziers however sat on either side of the doors one of a demon and the other an angel holding up a massive bowl. The demon seemed to bear the weight triumphantly were the angel bowed under the weight but the two stood at nearly the same height anyway. I could see another, human sized, door hidden just behind the angel brazier and another human sized door had been put into the massive door in front of me, barely visible, and despite the fact everything was spotless I felt as if neither of the smaller doors had been opened in an extremely long time.

The air was oppressive as I approached and I held my hand up to the doors at least three times to knock before some feeling pulled me away every time before I could go through with it. With a shaking breath to settle my nerves I raised my hand and knocked on the door rapidly, realizing too late that I may have been knocking too hard. Cursing myself silently for breaking one of Allura’s instructions I waited, my breath stuck in my lungs, for an answer.

The doors opened silently and I stepped back and over to avoid being hit but the door didn’t open more than four or five feet before it stopped. I entered slowly, unsure if I was truly welcome.

“I have little time for Allura’s games, human.” a deep, dark voice said, resonating through my body and making me shiver even though the room was warm, “You have very little time to make your case. Do not waste it.” and there turning towards me from beside a table of monstrous proportions stood the Demon King himself, Deralyct, The Lord of War.

The work was endless.  
The invasion had started as planned. A small scale assault on a single city, a staging ground for the rest of his plans but Deralyct still felt as if there was too much to do. Endless reports siphoned in from his lieutenants. Allura had already begun undermining the efforts of this worlds military and stealing their secrets and Slera lead his hordes in the assault without fear or doubt, both of his trusted advisers acting with the efficiency that millennia of service bred.

The city had fallen quickly and its treasures were already being hoarded for him. Many new slaves had been gathered. It had gone well.

It had been easy.

Deralyct’s scowled. Yes, that was why he felt like something was missing, a burrowing feeling of dissatisfaction despite the expected outcome of the fighting. The military was fighting well even as it lost but the people...the people could only run and scream, practically handing themselves over to his soldiers and the slaughter.

A nation is only as strong as its people and these people had proven incredibly easy to dominate. Disappointing. Deralyct had had such high hopes in the opening moments when one of the humans had raised his fist against a kalavakus.

Deralyct had watched the boy hit the demon to save another, even if it was in vain, when he could have run. The demon had been distracted after all. He had barely dodged blow after blow from the kalavakus, even wrestling away its dagger, a weapon used to finish off the dying, and even make the kalavakus bleed.

The hellfire had risen from the portal then and saved him. He recovered first and killed the kalavakus. He had won. Their eyes met from across the battlefield and, though Deralyct doubted the boy’s frail eyes had seen it, Deralyct had nodded to him.  
The will to fight was worthy of a little respect no matter how poor or weak ones abilities were.

The boy had gotten his hopes up. But he had been disappointed in the end.

His concentration was broken as he sense Allura’s approach. What did she want? Deralyct had retired to his quarters when it became obvious the fight didn’t require his oversight, even if he kept an eye on the invasion from his desk. The surface illuminated by constant reports, statements,and messages.

If Allura head something to report it would show up here. She knew better than to bother him in his rooms now that he had sent Slera away. Unless she had a game to play. A growl left his throat from deep in his chest. He had no time or patience for these games. She knew a disappointing conquest lowered his spirits and that he hated being bothered with trivial nonsense after he had retired.

She and Slera were the only ones allowed to report to him now but only when the report was too sensitive to send over official channels. Emergencies. Not for whatever toy or prank she had in mind.

He thought about sending her away, she was impulsive and devious but not stupid, she would turn around immediately. Just before she arrived at his door however she paused before heading away, leaving behind a much weaker life force, one she had been blocking from his casual surveillance with her proximity.

A human. He almost laughed. Why had Allura brought him here? Deralyct wondered as he felt the human approach the door to his chambers alone. He was braver than most, or an idiot, or very desperate. Deralyct resisted turning him to dust immediately as he wavered behind the door and finally knocked.

He almost didn’t answer but if Allura thought this was important enough to spend a moment on then perhaps this human had something interesting to say, or the human was entertaining enough Allura thought he would have some fun destroying him.

He willed the doors open enough to let the human enter and resolved to at least entertain Allura for a few moments.

“I have little time for Allura’s games, human,” He said turning around to face him, “you have very little time to make your case. Do not waste it.” and there standing meekly just inside his chambers was the boy who fought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was hoping to include the actual deal making in this chapter but it started to run a little long and then I found what I thought was a good stopping point. Next chapter they will strike the deal and the feelings will start to weave between them.


	4. The Demon you get to know

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The deal finally gets made and Jon's family is safe. But Jon's motives aren't fully clear, even to himself, and Deralyct begins to wonder what drove his new servant the the lengths he went to save his family. Demons know all about selfishness after all and Jon's reasons aren't as innocent as he thinks.

Demon King Deralyct was big. Easily nine or ten feet and built like a war machine. His armor made him even more intimidating as thick and adorned with demonic skulls as it was. He looked down at me from a face shaped from onyx, jagged at the edges of his jaw and chin up to his horns, light from some deep internal fire lighting his throat and a nose like two slits. It shone brightest in his eyes, almost drowning out their crimson, from underneath a thick eye ridge that connected to his main horns that broke from his head and curved almost the length of his shoulders. He also had multiple smaller horns that ran down his head and neck and disappeared into his armor. I swallowed down the lump in my throat and forced my voice to rise above a whisper.

“I’m here to make a deal for my family.” It came out weaker than I had hoped but I it wasn’t likely anything I did would garner much respect from the Demon King in front of me.

“A deal?” he said taking a step toward me. He chuckled then. The rumbling boulder sound sent my thoughts racing for cover and chilled me to my core but it was over quickly. He sneered down at me, revealing rows of large teeth, “Your city is mine. All you own is lost or taken. You know nothing I have not already discovered. What could you offer me?”.

He had a point. Even if I could access it I didn’t think my savings would cut it given the wealth I had seen just walking here and I wasn’t privy to any secrets that might be pertinent to an invading force. He probably wasn’t going to take an IOU either.

“What do you want?” I asked, my throat drying up. He scoffed and returned back to the desk. One giant claw reached down and touched the surface causing red and orange lights too reflect off his armor. The motion gave me a better view of his wings almost bat like but thicker at the bone with dark claws jutting from the joints, large scars cut across portions of his wings adding texture against the dark crimson skin stretched across them.

“I want nothing you could offer me.” he said with his back to me, “If that is all you can say I will not waste any more of my time on you. You will be taken to the cages where you and your family can spend some time together and say your goodbyes before it is decided where you will all go.” His dismissal stung me. After everything I went through, after killing a demon, all the running and hiding, finding my family, entering the portal, even after surviving Allura he was going to send me away.

“You can’t do that!” I said stepping closer, my voice finally raising louder than a whisper, “I'm not done yet.” I didn’t even see him turn but his hand was suddenly at my throat and lifting me into the air. He glared at me with the full brunt of his gaze and from this distance I could feel actual heat radiating from them. Flames rose from the obsidian horns that fell down his head to give him a crown of fire.

“I own you.” he said, his voice had fallen into a growl that I could feel through his claw, “I was giving you a chance to survive but now I see that you should be an example.” he sneered, “Though your pathetic people don’t seem to need help to cower. 

His claw was tight against my throat and I could barely, breathe my mind raced against itself to find a way out, and I cried out almost unconsciously.  
“They will fight.” I felt the hand around my throat slacken enough for me to take a breath greedily. “They will fight.” I said a little louder.

“Your lies are far too obvious,” he said reaffirming his grip, his tail lashed against the floor, the sound breaking me from my oxygen deprived haze, “I have already won. They cower in cages and beg for even the slightest reprieve from pain. They are cowards.” with every word the crown of flames slowly died down until it was out of sight, waiting for his temper to flare again.

“Exactly.” I said, “They are cowards. No ones going to pick up a branch and try to take out a demon. There won’t be a mob rising up to break out of their cages. They aren't warriors.” I swallowed and I could feel his hand against my adams apple as I continued, “but they will fight.”

He looked at me for a moment and turned, still holding me. I was dropped onto the desk and pulled to my feet roughly so that we were standing at close to the same height, although, even with the help of the desk he still had a few inches on me. The desk was covered in what looked like a giant screen. Red and orange glyphs and letters swirled and flew across its surface in flashes in a way that made it hard to believe anyone could read it. I took a breath and continued.

“They will sit and cry until your demons look away and they can run into the night. They will wait in whatever place you put them or whatever job you give them until they get the chance to tell anyone opposing you everything they can about your defenses and armies. They will do anything they can to undermine your authority without actually being hurt themselves. They can’t be trusted to just lay down and obey.” I said out of breath. He looked at me eye ridge raised and eyes passive.

“I have conquered cowards before boy.” He said, “and I will do so again. I already know how to make them comply long enough to break them. All they need is someone they trust to tell them not to fight and that they will be taken care of. They will roll over and wait eagerly on false promises until the chains are so tight they can never escape.” I could hear demons approaching from outside and knew my time to convince him was short.

“Let me be the one they trust.” I said, “They’ll listen to someone human. They’ll listen to me.”

“Why would I give you such a position?” he asked, “You break into my citadel and insult me to my face and ask I let slaves go when offering nothing. What do you offer me in return?” I could see his crown begin to rise again as he listed how badly I had butchered making my deal. I knew If I didn’t say something I was going to die. I remember Allura’s warning that he might hurt my family if I fail and the jolt was enough to get me to open my mouth again.

“Everything.” I said before thinking. “I offer you everything.” My voice shook as I spoke. “Let my family go free and see them to safety and I’ll help you,” I looked away from the demons's burning gaze, guilt curling deep into my chest, making it hard to speak, “I’ll help you take over my people.” He looked down at me a strange light in his eyes. I looked back up at him and forced myself to meet his gaze even as my own eyes began to tear up.

“Everything?” he said softly, “You would give me everything in order to save your family?” he said the words slowly, his tone strange.

“I give you everything, my mind, body, and soul.” He stared at me for a moment. His tail slowly waved behind him and my wet eyes latched on to the movement rather than let him see me cry.

“What is your name?” he asked in a voice lighter, quieter than the one he had been using before.

“Jon.” I said, still watching his tail as it moved against the floor.

The door opened and I heard a demon enter and speak. Deralyct turned towards them and made a motion with his hand. The demon bowed and shut the door, leaving us alone again. Deralyct turned back to me and his eyes locked me in place.

“Why offer everything for them?” he asked finally. “Do you really care for your family enough to abandon any hope of freedom?” It was a valid question in a callous, selfish way. Brandon could be a terror and was as headstrong as any kid I had ever met, Alyssa was staunchly in the ‘I know everything’ stage of her life, and Dad… he was always so busy, he never really had time for himself let alone three kids. But they were family, they were my family.

Even when I felt like they didn’t understand me or like they got on my nerves we always came back together and pulled through it. My dad had worked so hard to raise us when our mom walked off and now I had to step up and make something of myself for once and sacrifice for them.

Other thoughts rose up in my head. That I would be giving up college, I would be giving up parties, dating, friends, a job, my whole life. Not that I had or started most of those at this point in my life. There was an odd comfort there in giving up all of that but I couldn’t go through those feelings right now. I looked at the Demon Lord and wiped the tears from my eyes.

“Yes.” I said,my voice hoarse but clear. He nodded and something I pretended was respect lit his eyes. He moved forward and I caught a the smell of burning and metal as I craned my neck to maintain eye contact

“Very well.” His hand reached out and grabbed my right forearm. Searing light radiated from the gaps in his fingers and I fell to the desk as burning heat engulfed my arm, racing through my veins until my entire body felt on fire. Something inside me reacted to that fire, rising from deep inside me and latching onto the pain, leaching it away like aloe on sunburn. The pain was so intense I couldn’t even scream and I was left gasping when he finally let me go.

I looked at my arm and, like a black tattoo, my arm was now encircled by a ring of symbols. Turning it I saw a much larger symbol on my forearms inner side, it pulsed with a dull heat and glowed softly with every heartbeat, two curved lines on either side of a sun going through an eclipse, the dark circle clearly overtaking the lighter one.

“My personal emblem.” Deralyct said, drawing my gaze back to him, I put my hands on the desk and stood up before he grabbed me and placing me on the ground much gentler than the last time he had grabbed me. “You are now my personal servant. Your first task is to pacify the people of your former city.” He walked to the door where I could see, standing outside it, a smartly dressed demon waiting alongside a few demons in armor.

He turned to them and said something in demon. His words visibly shocked the demons who broke composure enough to stare at me in surprise before turning their attention to their master.

My master.

He stood aside and I took that as an order to leave. I left his chamber and began to follow the well dressed demon. I looked back and caught Deralyct looking after me for a moment before walking back into his room, the heavy stone doors closed behind him.

“My King I simply don’t understand why you didn’t kill him immediately.” Slera said. Deralyct didn’t even have to turn around to know what face she was making, though the look of anger and shock was most often directed at Allura it was one she had made at him often. Slera had barged into his rooms in a rage only a few minutes after the boy had left, corrupted light blaring from her aura, and begun asking about the human. A few moments later Allura had sauntered in behind her fellow general and less than five seconds after they both got into the room they were arguing.

“It’s not our place to question,” the succubus said, “our Lord of war always has a plan.”

“You are telling me not to question?” the fallen celestial cried out, the sound of flapping, the air filled with the scent of blood as Slera raised her wings in challenge. “You always break order and twist Lord Deralyct’s decrees.” He could feel the air change. Icy and cold at the same time. “It was you.” Slera said after a few moments of silence. He heard a blade unsheathe. “How else could something so pathetic make its way into our Lord's domain, let alone find and infiltrate his chambers.” her voice rose to a yell as she spoke.

“Enough.” Deralyct said, weaving his power into his words, and the palace shook under his earthquake. He turned as his lieutenants stood at attention and bowed. Slera was still fuming but she knew better than to act out after he had made an order. Allura however dared to give her counterpart a smirk from behind her hair.

Even after millennium they bickered but that was why he chose them. Allura was intelligent and resourceful and willing to use all of her skills, and charms, to obtain any objective. Her impulsiveness and individuality allowed her to understand how and when to alter orders as the situation demands even if she had a tendency to shift things to favor her own objectives, especially her games.

Slera was the opposite. Just as intelligent and capable but unbending. Her military prowess was second only to his and her ability to obey instruction at any cost was perfect for those times he couldn’t risk Allura’s meddling.

Their personalities, however, clashed unless he was their to keep them from going at each other's throats.

“The boy is my servant now.” he said firmly, “and while Allura,” he turned to regard her and she had the good sense to bow lower, “broke many rules by bringing him to me. He was not a threat. He may even prove to be more useful than you assume Slera.”

“Yes my lord, however,” she said rising to attention and sheathing her sword, Allura quickly following suit, “I still don’t understand why. You let three slaves go to gain one?” Allura piped up, rolling her eyes at the other general.

“You really have trouble understanding the deal?” she asked her tone was liable to set Slera off again so Deralyct glared at her to remind her he hadn't forgotten she had brought an enemy straight to his chambers. She bowed her head again and continued. “Three slaves is a paltry price for what Our Lord won in the bargain. Jon gave Deralyct his mind, body, and soul. He has no free will. He is a puppet our Lord can trust almost as much as us to do as he commands without betraying him.”

“Humans are unreliable Allura especially when they offer their word.” Slera retorted her corrupted light flaring around her, “How can either of you be sure?”

“You don’t put enough faith in people's relationships with each other, Slera .” the succubus replied looking at her hand, “His family.” she iterated as if it was obvious with a shrug, “We make it clear that even if they are free and safe that if he ever breaks his vow.” The claw she had been inspecting burst into hellflame, “We break them.” Slera’s eyes shot up in surprise.

“He broke into Our Lord's domain.” she said, realizing the implications, “He’s already risked everything to get them safe. He won’t do anything to endanger them again.” Allura smiled at the Raven haired general.

“Exactly.” they were right, Deralyct allowed them their ruminations but kept his own thoughts to himself. Their had been another motive to the boy...Jon, he had a name now, he had indeed wanted to save his family but there had been something else. Something he hadn’t even admitted to himself and Deralyct wanted to see what it was.

That and he had fought. The fact he had given up so easily. Fighters don’t make deals with enemies. Fighters fight. Why had he made the deal? Deralyct felt like Jon got more out of the deal than he had bargained for and Deralyct could use the distraction of figuring it out after such a disappointing starting campaign.  
Besides. His generals were right. With Jon controlling his people the best he could Deralyct had one less thing on his plate and could even expedite his plans. Already his demons were surveying a spot for his new palace and then...then the real invasion began.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The two (future) Lovers finally meet. How will Jon adjust to being enslaved even if it was his own choice? How will Deralyct adjust to having in around? How exactly will Jon pacify the enslaved people of Freetown? Next chapter we get the answer to a few of these questions and after that I'm expecting a good four or so chapters of getting to know each other and growing as both a slave and a master. P.s. story is a little shorter than usual but I think I got through a lot with it.


	5. Parting is Bitter not Sweet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jon enters the cages to get his family to safety but discovers it wouldn't be as easy as he thought. Former coworkers and over defensive demons paint a picture that leaves him looking less like a savior and more like an oppressor to is family. His new demonic allies don't help him recover his standing and as they leave he isn't able to stand up to them enough to say goodbye. Deralyct starts to pay attention to his new servant and how his existence changes the Demon Lord's formerly perfect order.

I scratched my arm and pulled at my new clothes. Allura frowned at me as we walked through the staging grounds, massive fields just outside the palace built off the sand with giant slabs of stone. Massive portals were located across the area, big enough for a hundred demons to run through simultaneously, with enough space to contain an army and all their supplies. It made it easy to see how the demons had attacked so quickly and ruthlessly with this much preparation.

“Do they not fit?” she asked, “Our tailors are more used to demonic proportions but they rarely make mistakes.” She was referring to my new clothes. A gray uniform tunic beneath a black vest with golden accents, tailored black pants and shoes. Deralyct’s symbol was embroidered in red on the front over my heart and I tried not to pick at it. No the clothes fit its was just…

“They don’t feel right.” I said to the general. The material was soft and breathable and helped fight the heat of the demon plane by allowing air to circulate but they weren’t clothes I would have picked out for myself. Allura smirked and turned forward.

“You’ll become used to them it time.” she said, “Just as you will become used to the idea of being a slave. It is an honor you know.” We had almost reached the portal that I assumed led back to earth, it definitely had the most demons milling around it. “Our Lord Deralyct hasn’t chosen a personal servant in a long time.” Despite her words I didn't think 'honored' summarized how I felt about my new position.

I didn’t pause as we entered the portal but I held my breath almost instinctively. On the other side I could see that Freetown wasn’t gracefully bearing its new owners. Linguine Palace looked even more broken down than before. A large four legged demon broke through its side with a roar causing half the building to collapse and almost immediately smaller demons began to pick up the rubble and cart it to massive burn piles that filled the air with smoke. I blinked against the sudden glare of the sun but my eyes were quickly adjusting. Despite the three suns Deralyct's realm was in a constant state of fading light, like when the sun is setting and the shadows are long but its not quite nightfall.

“Our Lord and I have been waiting Allura.” someone said to the side. Slera's steppes were even and steady, almost like a march. She avoided my gaze, her own eyes latched onto the succubus who didn’t seem bothered by her hostility.

“We arrived exactly when we were told to.” Allura replied with a shrug, bumping me with a hip that made me side step to keep my balance before her tail wrapped around my waist to right me. “We both know this won't take very long so why not stow the bitter face for a moment. Even former celestials can get wrinkles you know.” Slera’s glare deepened and she snarled as she motioned for us to follow her. Allura unlatched her tail and rolled her eyes at me conspiratorially with a wink and a smile before following the raven haired general.

Slera led us to one of the raised platform on legs, this one without its cage, the edge of the platform was surrounded by a waist high guard rail except for the back which remained open. I stepped on the spider platform quickly before Slera could snap at me and we were underway. Despite the way its legs moved the ride was surprisingly smooth and from my vantage I could see just how badly the demons had ravaged the city.  
Every business and building we passed bore some kind of damage although some had been hit so hard they had collapsed completely. Allura grabbed my attention just as we passed a group of buildings that seemed to have fallen like dominoes, one falling into the other.

“You will be entering the cages and extracting your family.” she explained to me, “They and only they will be allowed to leave.”

“And don’t try to point out someone who isn’t your family slave.” Slera said, barely turning towards me, I noticed she palmed her sword as she stared me down. “Only three slaves will be leaving those cages with you, understood?” I nodded at her and she turned away with a scowl. Allura rolled her eyes at Slera’s back and returned to her explanation.

“After your family has been marked we will personally escort-”

“Marked?” I said, cutting her off.

“Of course,” she said with a smile, “We have to be sure you don’t break your promise. Nothing will happen to them as long as you keep to your end of the deal you struck with Deralyct.”

“Any sign of insubordination will result in painful deaths for your family.” Slera said, turning and taking a step towards me. “Are we clear?” Her eyes were as black as her hair, unreadable and deeply unsettling they bore into my own, searching for an excuse to take me down and end this pointless errand.

“Now, now Slera.” Allura said behind her placing a hand on her blackened armor and pulling her back a step. “No need to crowd him. But she is right Jon.” Allura said looking at me with a shrug, “Deralyct wants to be absolutely sure your words aren’t just talk. But he does keep his promises so as long as you don’t betray him your family will be fine.”

Slera shrugged of the succubus’ hand with a look of disgust and moved to the other end of the platform. Her armor didn’t look like the other demons I realized now that I had a moment to study it. It was to curved and graceful, fitting her perfectly, instead of large and spiked and it appeared scorched black by fire. Also parts of it were defaced, melted or gouged out and crudely patched to obstruct any sign of what symbols or design that had been formerly present save for the symbol of Deralyct gouged into its surface, by hand, proudly on her breastplate.

“Now, as I was saying,” Allura said, drawing my attention back to her, “I will personally lead them with you to a place where this world's military will find them and extract them. After they are safely out of the area we dominate you will start your part of the deal and help Our Lord pacify any lingering discontent until we are able to transfer everyone to their positions.” I nodded in understanding.

I had to keep myself in Deralyct’s good graces or my family would pay the price. I felt the guilt twist a little tighter in my chest. I was tying my family to a Demon King. They didn’t ask for that. It was my deal but Deralyct was going to punish them if I failed. Allura frowned and grabbed my face.

“Our Lord isn’t one to break his word.” She said again, forcing me to stare into and see the truth in her eyes. “Your family will be safe from any demon under Deralyct’s command for as long as you stay loyal. They will owe their lives to you, its a debt they will never forget.” Her words didn’t settle the guilt in my stomach and I instead felt it twist even tighter. I didn’t want them indebted, I wanted them safe. I pushed those feelings and thoughts down as we approached the cages and my face fell when I realized just how many people the demons had added to the cages since I had last been here.

The enclosures had expanded across the lot and into the streets and even into the surrounding buildings, the ones that still stood anyway. Demons patrolled within and around the enclosures. People scrambled to avoid them but there was precious little room for them to go and even from far away I could hear the crying and yelling. The demon’s didn’t seem particularly bothered by it and I could swear I saw Slera smirk before her face turned impassive again and she stood to attention, looking at something approaching.

I turned and saw Deralyct. A throng of demons in extravagant armor accompanied him, alert and at the ready, searching for any sign of a threat. I doubted they were truly necessary. Deralyct was definitely the most powerful thing here, standing above even his largest guards by three feet. His helmet was also attached and I wondered how he got it on over his horns before Allura nudged me with her tail to stand straight which I did a little too quickly, almost losing my footing. He had his sword with him this time, strapped between his wings on his back.

“King Deralyct.” Allura and Slera said bowing lightly. I followed suit although my words were far softer. Deralyct motioned us to rise and turned to me.

“Go get your family and bring them here.” he ordered. I stepped down from the platform and walked to the cages. A couple of Deralyct’s entourage broke off from the group and flanked me on either side, maintaining distance but close enough to intercede if they needed to. The demons guarding the enclosure stood back as I passed and I felt a slight thrill worm its way into my chest through everything else I was feeling and I, begrudgingly, admitted I enjoyed the idea of demon’s obeying my orders.

The enclosures were filled with people and they scrambled away as I walked, searching for Alyssa, Brandon, and my dad. I ignored the looks they gave me but caught some of the things they whispered as I passed.

“Who’s that?” someone asked behind me and I resisted turning to see who it was.  
“Why is he here?” someone else said to my right and out of the corner of my eye I caught a group of people glaring at me.  
“What is he doing with the monsters?” someone said angrily. It was harder to pinpoint exactly where the sound had come from but it seemed to match the general attitude of the crowd. I ignored the hostility and moved to where I saw my family last.

The cages had expanded so much the outer wall I had talked to them through had become one of the inner walls lining the center of the complex and I moved with the hope they had remained in the same enclosure after I had left even with all the other people who had been stuffed into the small space.

I found the cage soon enough and moved to the wall. I found the hole where only yesterday I had talked to them but found no sign of my family. I turned and scanned the crowd. They pressed against an invisible bubble around me, to scared to get close to the demons guarding me but curious about the fact I seemed to be in charge of them. I could tell they were scared but I had little choice but to ask for clues.

“Do any of you know where Alyssa, David, and Brandon are?” I said, raising my voice loud enough to be heard above the murmuring crowd. The crowd moved away and I lowered my tone to seem less threatening. “I’m looking for a group of three. Their names are Alyssa, David, and Brandon does anyone know where they went?” The people looked at each other and locked lips tightly before glaring at me.

Of course it wouldn’t be that easy. Before I could make another pitch the crowd moved. Two people pushing forward to stand in front of the crowd.

“Jon? Jon is that you?” a woman asked, “It’s me! Its Megan.”  
Megan. We had worked together. It had been her day off so she hadn’t been at Linguine Palace when the demons attacked. I had been too preoccupied to wonder what had happened to her, or anyone else I had known really, and now here she was here staring at me with pleading eyes.

Her cherry red hair was covered in soot and dirt and her jeans were ripped, the skin underneath broken and scabbing, her shirt and jacket were pulled close to her as she reached towards me. Her eyes teared up.

“Jon its me and Horace.” Her voice cracked as she grabbed the man next to her and pulled him forward tears falling down her face.  
Horace, another server I had worked with before everything happened. That’s right. They had been dating. They must have been grabbed together, if I looked past the grime I could see their clothes had once been nice, date night material, Megan only had one earring and it caught the light of the sun despite the dirt on its surface.

“Megan...Horace.” I said weakly, my nerves were shot from the events of the past few days. I didn’t have the emotional reserves to handle the way they looked at me. Begging for help.

"Please man," Horace said, "We need help. People are starving, they hurt us when we ask for help. Jon, please-" Horace looked even worse than Megan, the right side of his face swollen and bleeding from where someone had hit him. I lifted a hand to my neck where I sported a bruise of my own, courtesy of when Deralyct had grabbed my neck yesterday, it spanned around my neck but thankfully the tunic’s neckline covered most of it.

“I can’t,” I floundered, “I can’t help you.” They begged. And I could only watch. Horace stepped forward and suddenly the demons were between us. They pointed their weapons at my former coworkers and yelled.

“Get back.” they said menacing, the crowd trampling itself to get away. The symbol on my arm translated the words so I could understand what the demons were saying but the threat was universal enough to get the idea across to even the terrified crowd. I lost sight of Megan and Horace as the crowd surged backward and I took a step forward about to pull the demon's back. 

“Jon?” I heard from my left. One of the demons turned to the new threat and I grabbed the shaft of its weapon before it could accidentally skewer Alyssa. She looked at me and then the demons and then the intimidated crowd. Her eyes narrowed. “What are you doing?”

“I was looking for you!” I said stepping towards her, relief filled me now that I knew she was all right, she stepped back in turn and I stopped. I turned to where her eyes were looking and saw the faces of the crowd after the demons had pushed the back, “It's not what it looks like.” I said quieter. She glared at me and stayed back. Behind me I could hear Megan crying and Horace trying to comfort her weakly, the crowd pressed closer now that our attention was divided and one of the demons turned to keep them back.

“Really Jon? Because it looks like your helping these demons to terrify people. Jesus Christ haven’t we gone through enough.” Her eyes still looked at me hatefully but her voice broke and tears started to fall down her face. “What happened to you? We told you to escape the demons now you're here hurting people with them? What is wrong with you?” I finally reached the end of my rope and all my frustration and anger at everything that had happened over the course of the past couple days lashed out.

“Enough.” I said loudly, pushing the demon between us out of my way. Despite its strength advantage it let me pass and I approached my sister. “I have been through literal hell and back to find you. You can think whatever you want about me but right now you need to shut the fuck up and bring dad and Brandon.” I had backed her against the wall. The glare replaced by horror and I found myself unable to care. She didn't move and that further enraged me. “Now!” I yelled finally getting her to move. She cried out and ran away from me, past the demon and into the crowd.

I took a moment to mentally force myself to calm down. Shoving my frustration on top of my guilt and tying the whole bundle up in do not cross police tape. My visualization complete I opened my eyes just in time for Alyssa to come back, cowering behind my dad, with Brandon in her arms. My dad glared down at me and it was obvious Alyssa had passed along her version of events but I didn’t give him the time to speak.

“Move.” I snapped pointing toward the exit. My father opened his mouth and his nostrils flared, and I knew he was about to start a scene. The demons saw his aggressive posturing however and moved to stand between us growling at him, weapons level against his chest. He looked at them and then me in shock. I turned away, unable to look him in the eye and started moving toward the exit. A thousand eyes watched me as I passed.

I knew every single one of them was assuming the worst about the situation but I didn’t care. I needed my family out of here. I needed them gone. We finally escaped the enclosure and the gate closed behind us with a slam. The eyes of everyone finally off me I began to breathe a little easier, but my relief was short lived as Slera approached.

“You were in there far to long Slave.” she said derisively, she motioned us to go past her, “Your master awaits.” I felt my families eyes on me and my heart broke a bit when I heard Brandon start to cry. Alyssa quickly began to comfort him and as I passed Slera I shot her a glare. She seemed surprised by my gall but shot one back. There was no reason to say that in front of them, but I knew she didn’t care about making this easier for me.

I heard my dad suck in a breath and turned my head enough to look back at him. I thought he would be glaring at me but instead his eyes were fixed over my head, at Deralyct.  
To his credit Deralyct wasn’t doing anything to cause a reaction from my dad but his presence and appearance was intimidating enough. Brandon stopped sniffling and I hoped it was because Alyssa was successful in calming him instead of fear holding his voice. I could still hear Alyssa whispering to Brandon but the words became more frantic as we approached the Demon King.

Allura waved at me and blew a kiss and I flinched under the weight of my sisters glare. She had always been hyper aware of sexualization and came down on me hard if she caught a whiff of anything she considered wrong in my words or actions.

“Is this them?” Deralyct asked once we were close. I nodded and the demons that had accompanied me walked past me, followed by Slera, leaving me with my family facing the demons. I looked back at them and saw that they had stopped far enough away that it wasn’t obvious they were with me and after a moment I followed the demons and stood next to Deralyct.

My family alternated between glaring at me and glancing at the demons that now surrounded them.

“Jon what's going on?” My dad asked as a demon passed close to them, he pushed Alyssa and Brandon behind him, and looked at me.

“Your son has arranged for you to go free.” Allura said, walking to my side and throwing her arm around my shoulder. It didn't appear my family caught my discomfort with the action and Alyssa gagged slightly. Allura giggled quietly and I glared at her for enjoying giving my family the worst impression of me possible. “You will all now be marked.” She said nonchalantly, her arm latched over me as Deralyct approached them in order to stop me from interfering.

My right arm twitched and I hid my mark behind my arm, remembering the pain. My dad stood between his children and Deralyct holding out an arm.  
“Now wait a moment.” he said warily, “I still don’t understand what's going on.”

“Jon has sold himself into my service in exchange for your freedom.” Deralyct said, his crown rising to the top of his horns, “You will all be marked to confirm that the deal had been struck and our side has upheld its bargain. You will be released into your military's custody and be free to rebuild your lives elsewhere.”

“Jon what is he talking about?" My dad said backing away from Deralyct, “What did you do?” his tone was accusatory and I flinched at the anger in his eyes. I tried to speak but my words were being strangled in my throat, everything I felt threatening to spill out from where I had shoved it down. With monumental effort I pushed it back enough to try and tell my dad it was alright.

“I did what I had to do to save you.” I said thickly watching them from Allura’s grasp. “It will be over quickly and you’ll be safe just, please, let him mark you.” My dad looked from me to the Demon Lord, it was obvious he didn't believe in what I was saying, but after a moment he raised his arm and Deralyct grabbed it. I grimaced as the same light that had signaled my marking spilled out from between Deralyct's fingers but my dad didn’t cry out. In fact it didn’t appear as if he was in any pain. After a few seconds his arm was released, the mark barely visible, my dad stumbled back and looked at his arm in surprise.

“Your letting him brand us?” Alyssa cried out grabbing our fathers arm to inspect the mark. It was smaller than mine, made up of a single symbol, and colored like a scar so that it was barely noticeable if you weren’t looking.

“It’s to keep you safe.” I said trying to move forward but Allura kept me locked beside her. “None of the demons will hurt you once it's on and all of you will be let go outside of the city.” She gave me a disbelieving look and gave Deralyct a distrusting look. I heard Slera snarl behind me and a few inches of metal rasped behind me so I called out, “Now Alyssa!” harshly. She looked at me in fear and I was reminded of her reaction in the cages when I had yelled at her.

Alyssa received her mark without another word but she glared at me the whole time. Snatching her arm away from Deralyct as soon as he released it. But when it was Brandon's turn he began to act up. I pulled against her grip and Allura finally let me go so I could calm him. My dad looked me in the eye when I reached out for Brandon and, after hesitating, handed him to me.

“Its ok Brando.” I said turning back to Deralyct, “It's going to keep you safe.”

“It's scary, I don't want the monsters to get me.” Brandon blubbered out holding tight to my neck, I ignored the pain of him grabbing my bruises and rubbed his back. I could tell the gathered demons were quickly losing their patience so I pulled him off and looked him in the eye.

“I have one to, see?” I showed him my arm, “It keeps me safe now you need to let the...big bad demon give you the mark so you can be safe like me.”  
I ignored Allura's snort at my wording and Brandon sniffled but nodded and I held his arm up for Deralyct while he buried his head into my shoulder like he did when he was getting a shot at the doctor.

Deralyct was only able to fit a couple fingers on his arm but it was enough and after a few moments my entire family was branded. My mouth filled with bile that I bit down as well as I could. I gave Brandon back to dad and he took him from me quickly and turned away to protect him, I pretended it didn't hurt and turned away to stand by Deralyct. Allura put a hand on my shoulder.

“Take them to the military.” I said to her under my breath, facing away from them. One of her perfect eyebrows shot up.

“You aren’t going to come with us?” she asked. After a few moments I looked her in the eyes and as calmly and evenly as I could manage I said.

“No.” Allura nodded and walked towards them motioning as she passed. I turned back towards them as she approached, trying my best to look them in the eye and failing.

“Follow me.” she ordered leading them away. My dad and Alyssa paused before looking at each other. Alyssa turned away first, holding Brandon again, glaring at me as she did and my father paused, looking at me sadly before following her away. Brandon called out after me and I bit the inside of my cheek hard enough to taste blood and let the pain distract me from the tears that threatened to fall down my face.

I watched them climb onto the platform. I wanted to say goodbye, but I didn’t think I could do it without breaking down or without starting another fight with them. The platform rose, my family on top of it and headed away. I knew this was probably the last time I would see them and I watched until they were out of sight.

“We did our part Slave.” Slera said behind me with a cold voice, cutting my mourning short, “You will control the rest of your kind until we are ready to use them.” I felt absolutely drained. The thought of doing anything other than falling into a coma was unbearable, still, I stood straight and turned toward the enclosure.

“Tomorrow Slera.” Deralyct said, “There are still many aspects of his new role he needs to learn before I can entrust him to a project alone. There is no need to rush when the slaves will sit another night.” I let out a sigh, some of the tension leaving my shoulders. I wasn’t looking forward to more of the instruction that had filled the past day since making my deal with Deralyct but it was easier than facing the cages again.

However after we entered the portal to get to the palace Deralyct ordered me to follow him. I followed back to his chambers. I kept my head low, running over my last moments with my family and wishing they could have gone different. I tried to distract myself by looking at the artwork around me but a Demon Kings idea of beauty did little to comfort me. The act gave me a chance to learn more about the castle however and I was slowly learning my way around the palace, at least my way to Deralyct’s rooms. When we arrived I saw the angel brazier had been pushed out of the way and the human sized door revealed.

“That will be where you sleep.” he said gesturing to it. “Tomorrow you will begin to pacify your people.” He entered his chambers and closed the door behind him without dismissing me. I paused in the hallway and waited to see if he had some other instruction for me but when he didn’t come back out of his room after a couple moments I carefully opened the human sized door.

The inside was barren of anything other than some basic furniture. A dresser sat against the far wall to the right of another doorway, on my right a desk sat underneath a window that gave me a full view of the palace, specifically a massive courtyard below where I could see demons practicing drills.  
Beyond the palace stood the wastes, red sand and obsidian spikes as far as my eyes could see. I had been told by Allura that many structures dotted the hellscape, mostly fortresses for Deralyct’s armies, including some areas that weren’t dessert. It seemed hard to believe. Next to the desk was a bed. As simple as it was it looked heavenly to me and even though I expected to be kept awake by my emotions I started to doze as soon as my head hit the pillow.

I thought about my family as my mind shut off, about what they probably thought about me now, about how we had left each other. A tear rolled down my face before I could stop it, running over my nose and down my other cheek, to finally hit the pillow beneath my head. But sleep was insistent and quickly pulled me from my thoughts and into a dreamless night.

Jon had done well. He had passed his first test, he had managed to keep his composure in the cages, until his family had shown up that is. Deralyct frowned and walked to his desk activating it with a surge of power.

The next few days would be trying and Deralyct had to be sure his servant wouldn’t break under the pressure, which was why Deralyct had chosen to let him begin his task the next day. The human had almost been dead on his feet and Deralyct couldn't let him take command of a project in that condition regardless of their deal. Outside of the task before him he was learning quickly how to serve without insulting the Demon King but Deralyct knew he could use some more guidance, mentally reminding himself to keep an eye on the progress of Jon's mission, not quite happy about having another thing to watch over.

Also Allura was already beginning to mentor Jon, making him a better servant and ensuring he knew what was expected of him. Deralyct knew it was because her games were very important to her and not some sort of actual fondness for the human but he didn’t know why she had chosen to involve herself in this one so deeply. He narrowed his eyes at her latest report, pretending it was her. As long as it benefited him and his goals in the end he would allow the succubus to continue.

It would be best to keep Slera away from him, her hostility to all lesser beings would make her act out against him and Jon had enough fight in him to lash back and possibly unleash her rage. That much was made apparent in the few interactions they had had today. It was fortunate the former celestial was so busy readying the construction of his temporary palace on earth now that the military of this world had been pushed back. A place where he could begin the next stages of his plans to dominate this planet.

After it became obvious they weren't going to win the fight with a counter assault the military had pulled back, deciding to try and contain the demon presence. This fit well into the Demon Lord's plans and he wondered if perhaps Allura had a hand in 'convincing' their military leaders to take that sort of action. Humans always proved to be weak. These humans were too weak to have a serious chance of winning a fight against him and his hordes and they seemed to give up before they had enough information to correctly choose their next action, if they had been paying attention they would have seen the demons had stopped advancing just outside the city limits. They didn't even dare to bring out their truly powerful weapons. The enclosures were made open on purpose for their eyes in the sky to see all prisoners they would incinerate if they dared. So easy to manipulate, and they grew tired of fighting quickly. Which reminded him of his servant.

He turned his senses on Jon only to find him already asleep. The emotional events of the day had extracted a heavy toll on his body. Deralyct focused on his forearm where his mark burned in his arcane senses. Jon's mark of servitude had taken well, already his soul acclimated to its changes, allowing him to understand demonic and breathe the toxic air outside the palace halls.

His mark had been painful as a necessity it was a complex spell and one that bound him to Deralyct completely, it monitored his surroundings and kept the Demon Lord appraised of his location across even planar boundaries. The mark was burned into his soul as well as his body, it was a label no demon could mistake, and told any being in The Beyond that he was claimed. The marks Deralyct had put onto his family in contrast had been painless. Why had he done that? He remembered Jon’s flinch, how he had hid his mark away as he was about to watch Deralyct mark his family just as Deralyct had marked him.

Their marks were less critical, less intricate, it was simple to choose a method that didn’t cause them pain. They would have struggled if the marks and had been painful. Especially when it would have came time to mark the child, also, If he had hurt them Jon might have felt Deralyct had broken their deal and Deralyct needed him loyal.  
Yes. That was why.

One mystery solved and a thousand more tasks ahead of him the Demon King leaned over his desk and turned his attention away from the bedridden human.  
Deralyct glanced at his own bed, unused and unneeded, opulent and expansive and fitting of a Demon Lord. A canopy hung over it in gold embroidered red silk and it was draped in soft, thick, blankets. Large plump pillows designed to hold even a horned head in comfort lay across the head of the bed. It had gone unused for years now. Demons didn’t need sleep and only did so when it benefited them, unlike humans. Unlike Jon. He turned away from it and tried to resume his work. After a few moments he turned away from the desk in frustration and decided to leave his chambers.

Only so much could be done from his desk and he suddenly felt restless. As he passed the angel brazier he paused and inspected it. It hadn’t moved in centuries and now it had been pushed aside. To make room for a human of all things.  
He stood still for a few moments, staring at the newly revealed door, before he continued walking. Away from the out of place brazier, away from Jon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Longer chapter than the previous ones even though it only shows about an hours worth of time wah? Sometimes thats how writing goes when you are writing an emotional scene and need to try and show all the feels. Next chapter Jon starts to calm the POD (prisoners of Demons) and the two learn more about each other.


	6. Pacification and a Good Nights Sleep

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jon is put in charge of all the cages Deralyct has set up for his prisoners. Jon gets his first look into the cutthroat world of demon politics. Deralyct is able to protect his servant before the threat can fully realize itself and in the process drives the two a little closer together.

I heard a crashing from behind me. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and turned to inspect the damage. Cans of produce rolled across the floor, one of them bumping against my foot, I bent down to pick up the can and walked towards the mess. Two demons were scrabbling to pick it up as I approached, neither of them seemed very enthusiastic about their job, and I caught the looks they gave me from the floor.

“Be more careful.” I said sternly, handing the can back to them, “We need this produce undamaged for the cages.” It was the day after my family had left and I was already reaching the end of my rope. I had spent the better part of the day trying to get a reasonably sized stockpile of food and water looted from abandoned stores and houses but the demons that had been put under my command were proving...vexing.

“This work is beneath us.” I heard someone say behind me. I turned to look at Grathel, the leader of the unit Allura had handed command of over to me that morning. Grathel was a scaled demon with two stubby wings and large yellow eyes. Both of which glared down at me as he kicked aside fallen cans into the aisles. “We are soldiers not errand boys. This is the work of slaves.” he said looking down at me, he glanced at my mark, before looking down at me again and sneering.

“And yet you have been ordered to do it.” I said standing up, the demons had picked up the cans and began carting it outside onto a platform, and returning Grathel’s gaze. We had butted heads multiple times over the course of the day and I knew he was sabotaging my efforts. He snorted and stepped up so we were almost chest to chest even though he stood over me by about two feet.

“It’s insulting,” he said, “we should be with the army preparing the world for Deralyct’s coming not gathering supplies at the command of a slave.” he curled his lip as he said it. I narrowed my eyes at the demon. This needed to stop, we were already moving slow without Grathel gumming up the chain of command and canceling my orders or changing the wording so that the demons did the opposite of what I needed. Two burned down stores had made it clear I couldn't count on him to relay the proper orders and I was done dealing with his petty power plays.

“You will perform the commands given to you Grathel! And if you persist in making this any more difficult I will talk to the generals about how you are incapable of following orders.” I said. I refused to back away from him, meeting his glare with my own, and after a few moments he huffed and turned away.

"Damned slave should be in the cages." I heard him say as he walked away, "Generals are mad if they think I'm going to take much more of this."

I sighed after he rounded the corner of the aisle, leveling a particularly nasty glare my way as he did, and rubbed my mark subconsciously. I had been warned by Allura about how demon’s worked. They respected power over all else, destructive power, things like having immense financing or political positioning meant little to most demons. Which is why I was having so much trouble getting my temporary subordinates to comply with my commands. If I didn't have this mark and I had said any of that to him without any power of my own to back it up... He would have killed me immediately.

It didn’t help that my orders went against their instincts as well. Preserving life and mitigating suffering don't mesh well with the lessons the abyss taught its denizens  
I left the convenience store we had been looting and looked at the piles of supplies we had managed to gather. Despite all the containers of food we had I worried that it wouldn’t be enough. After I had taken control of the project I had been told that the cages I was familiar with was only one such installation, about a dozen more were spread out across the city, that was now my responsibility.

I had visited each of them and they all were in similar states of despair and need and I didn’t know if enough food remained in the city to feed them all. Deralyct had already been supplying some amount of, technically edible, food and water to the cages but it wasn't enough to keep everyone healthy. I watched a couple demons carry out a full pallet from the back rooms of the store. Noodles, Ravioli, canned fruit and vegetables, anything non perishable that had survived the fighting was to be gathered.

It wasn’t going to be enough to keep everyone alive, especially if they were already weakened by three days with very little food or water. I only had about a hundred demons directly under my control and the demons guarding the cages were...less than enthusiastic to help spare anyone they could to gather supplies from the other stores among the city even when I ordered them with Deralyct’s authority.

Also there was the, not insignificant, matter of how I was going to circulate the supplies around the chaotically built cages. As I watched the demon’s work my eyes fell on a ruined police car, flipped on its side and dented as if something had can into it, and my eyes lit with inspiration. The demons couldn't even carry the boxes without making a mess and if Grathel was any indication I couldn't trust the demons to hand out the food either without losing most of it to unnecessary damage. But that overturned car gave me an Idea.

Deralyct’s attention was becoming extremely distressing. I had been in his chamber for nearly an hour giving my report on my first days progress and never before had I faced such scrutiny. I resisted wiping my palms on my pants and mentally cursed myself for not being better prepared. The notes I had written down to help me remember details hadn’t proved sufficient as Deralyct grilled me on every aspect of my plan to keep my people in line.

“You gathered supplies to feed them,” Deralyct was saying looking down at me, “and you used the former officers of your cities defense force to distribute them? How can you be sure they won’t use this as an opportunity to stage an attack now that they have the gratitude of the prisoners?” This was where I struggled. I hadn’t thought about that but I knew that Deralyct wouldn’t give up until he had a better answer than ‘I don’t know’.

“Calling them a defense force isn’t quite correct.” I said looking up at the demon lord before returning my gaze back down respectfully. “While, yes, they fought against you and your army, when you invaded, their duties mostly involved civil disputes not military actions. They were people charged with maintaining order and peace, most people feel like they could trust them, so I used that trust to get people to accept food given to them by demons.” I finished and met Deralyct’s eyes again, he raised an eyeridge.

“Other demons reported that they carried weapons with them at all times and there were also units of a team called swat who fought against us with everything they could muster. You are saying they won’t fight back?” Deralyct had challenged many of my choices over the past hour, the fact that I chose to feed people, when I ordered the demon’s to cut back on patrols inside the cages, when I entered the cages without guards to talk to the officers and enlist their help.

“Swat is an elite unit that's called in to handle situations the average police isn't trained for.” I explained, “Many have military background but without weapons I don’t believe they will be a threat, especially when many of them have some family inside the cages. These people all swore oaths to serve and protect the citizens of this city and I don't believe they will do anything that might cause backlash against the people they are trying to help.” Deralyct tilted his head back and narrowed his eyes, looking down at me thoughtfully, before nodding and turning away.

“Your presentation will need to improve but for now I believe you have the situation in hand.” I breathed a sigh of relief and looked down at the floor with a shaky smile. I had survived without making a complete idiot of myself. “However,” Deralyct said and my head snapped up, Deralyct had turned back around and was now regarding me critically, “I expect a better showing tomorrow. You are dismissed.”

I bowed and turned to go to my rooms. Deralyct’s chamber had another door leading from his rooms to mine so that I was always available should he need it, demon sized but amazingly lightweight, I opened it and was about to leave when He called after me.

“One moment.” I turned to look at him, his back was turned to me and he was looking out his balcony window to the palace and sands beyond.

“How are your soldiers reacting to you being in charge?” he asked, he tilted his head enough to look at me, “I expect them to defer to you when you are acting under my orders.” I was surprised he cared if I was having an easy time with his demons but I guess any amount of infighting could result in less than stellar results.

“There has been a little resistance, mostly with the lieutenant, Grathel, in charge of the unit, but no one else has done anything to subvert any order I’ve given. But some of the demons guarding the cages don't obey orders I’ve given them immediately.” I said, waiting by the open door to be dismissed.

Deralyct looked away for a moment before nodding that I was dismissed.  
“Goodnight, my Lord.” I said and closed the door between us. It felt like a boulder had been lifted off my shoulders. That had been the most intense experience of my life. Making the deal with him in the first place included.

But I felt a little excitement and pride that it had gone pretty well despite my inexperience. Even though I felt a little...under qualified, for my new position I found myself enjoying the growing pains. I smiled out the window as I got ready to sleep. I think I've got this figured out.

“And why would we, help you?” I was struggling again. I thought that it would be a good idea to gather all the nurses and medical professionals I could, to help combat disease and the many injuries among the cages, but they didn’t seem interested. I had already brought the nurses and doctors at most of the other cages on board but for some reason this group was fighting back way harder than necessary.

“Because people are dying.” I said to the nurse in front of me, “All of you have the skills to stop it. I can provide the supplies the only real question is are you going to sit back and let it happen?” The group murmured and scowled at me and I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. I didn’t have a lot of time to spend on this. I was still keenly aware that demons needed oversight and already I could feel that I had turned my back at them for to long.

“Look,” I said drawing their attention back to me, “I don’t care about medical protocol. If you want to pick favorites or take care of family and friends first that's fine. I’m asking that you use the skills you studied in school and learned on the job to make this shitty situation better for everyone.” I gestured to the groups of sick people around them. I was a little happy to see that most of them looked better fed. But many were coughing and most had at least one wound that needed looking at.

“Oh I see.” the same nurse as before spoke out, the group backed up around her enough so I could clearly see who was speaking. She still wore a pair of purple scrubs and her face was marred by a streak of dirt someone had tried to wipe away with a dirty cloth, making the situation worse. Her hair, once pulled back by pins and hair ties, had gotten loose. Black curls poking from her head at odd angles but it did nothing to detract from the fire in her eyes.

“First you fuck everything up and throw everyone together. Rip families apart when they don’t fit right and stab at anyone who tries to ask for help. Now ya got people dying, and you come here hoping to get a little free labor cause you don't want to spare a couple doctors of your own.” the group murmured in assent and backed her up. I understood her point of view but my job wasn't to understand it was to get results. I pointed to the side at a demon.

This demon was obese but still seemed to have to much skin for his body that it even blocking his eyesight although the demon moved just fine. His breastplate fit more like a corset than a piece of armor and massive rolls of demon fat rolled over and around the edges like a b-horror slime movie. His skin was marred with ever open pustules leaked openly and were the milky black liquid fell the ground smoked. As we watched a drop fell onto a brave dandelion that quickly withered to the ground.

“That's a doctor.” I said simply. “They don’t all look like that but I have many medics standing at the ready if I need them.” The nurse looked from me to the demon in horror. As hard as it was to believe I wasn't lying. The Glarivink was indeed one of the medics assigned to watch over the cages and I was unexpectedly glad he was close enough for me to make an example of him. “When I give the order,” the whole group turned back to me, “he and all the other demon medics will start their work. Grabbing children to check for colds and grabbing broken limbs to pull them back into place. Or,” I lifted a makeshift med kit and held it out to her, “you can start helping people.”

The kits contained everything they would need to stitch wounds and set broken bones if they needed to. It also contained enough medicine to help stem the tide of sickness that had, expectantly, settled over the camps. The nurse paused a moment before grabbing the kit from me and trudging into the crowd with a scowl. One by one the other nurses and doctors grabbed more from the pile behind me.

I made sure to give the Glarivink instructions to help resupply the volunteers or help them get any supplies they needed and turned to leave the cage. I caught sight of Allura as I left, she was also headed out of the cage and was walking in front of me, and frowned. I hadn’t known she was coming and she hadn’t told me she was here.

I followed her outside and spotted her speaking to a group of her demons under her command, many succubi and incubi but a few non provocative demons stood among the group. She dispersed the group with a motion and turned to me as I approached.

“I see your work is coming along nicely,” she said with a smile, “Although many are unsure about your methods.” Right. It would never occur to most demons to feed and take care of their prisoners to keep them complacent. She shrugged, as if dismissing their concerns on my behalf, “We should be prepared to move everyone in a few days and by then your results will quell all doubt.”

“Thank you General,” she smirked when I said her title, “I’m surprised to see you here. I thought your duties kept you busy keeping tabs on the military.” I said. Even though I knew she wasn’t really my friend, all her kindness and familiarity was a carefully built persona for the demon, I couldn’t prevent myself from feeling a little grateful to the succubus for helping me. Not just when she led me to Deralyct so I could make my deal but also for all her tips and the knowledge she had disposed after I made the deal. Like the names of demon species and the rankings of other officers in the army and where I stood in relation to them. It surprised me how high I stood considering I was, technically, only a slave.

“My work there continues,” she said, “but I have other duties as well. I am also in charge of spreading the word of Deralyct.”

“Excuse me General, Lord Jon.” I turned and saw Ugrak, my new temporary lieutenant, kneeling. I didn’t know what had happened to Grathel, I had been approached by the frog like demon Ugrak after I had arrived to give the days orders and read through reports, ugh...reports. I now understood why Deralyct was so short tempered when he was reading at his desk.

My questions into Grathel’s whereabouts had gone unanswered, the only thing Ugrak knew was that the scaled demon had been reassigned and that he was now the lieutenant under my command.

“Speak.” Allura said and Ugrak rose turning to me.

“If we have finished securing the aid of the medical professionals at this location we should move on.” He said, “We have another three locations to head to before the day is over.” I nodded, there was always more to do and I doubted I would get everything done before I had to return to Deralyct for my report.

“Prepare to move to the next compound.” I said, the demon bowed and walked away. Allura appraised my actions and nodded with a smile.

“Your beginning to act like a leader.” she said, nudging me with her shoulder, “Soon they’ll follow you without you needing to threaten them.” Something about the way she said it made me turn to her.

“You know what I said the Grathel yesterday?” I asked, I hadn't thought anyone was around who could have overheard us and it made me wonder just how much of my life was being monitored by the succubus or her agents.

“Don’t act so surprised,” she said crossing her arms, “I hear things.” she smiled at me smugly and I decided that most, if not all, of my life was monitored and I was fairly sure I wasn't ok with it.

“Do you know what happened to him?” I asked, pushing aside my frustration and unease. Allura shrugged one shoulder and began to inspect a claw.

“He was reassigned to a less critical position. Deralyct doesn't like it when officers start questioning orders.” she said nonchalantly. Grathel had been reassigned after our argument yesterday. I...didn’t know how I felt about that. I remembered Deralyct’s question yesterday, it had seemed so off hand, almost casual. I hadn’t thought anything would happen. I hadn’t liked Grathel but I felt unease worm its way through my chest. Allura bit her lip slightly and covertly looked around before she put a hand on my shoulder.

“He had it coming. He was ambitious, but stupid. He was always looking on moving up and he picked fights he shouldn’t have. Honestly being assigned to you was his last chance and he failed miserably.” She said, she saw I didn't believe her and she sighed and stepped closer. Her face remained impassive and casual but her eyes scanned the crowd. “He was making plans to kill you, Jon.” she said softly. I sucked in a breath and became aware that she had grabbed my arm to prevent me from flinching in surprise.

“Keep your cool. It’s taken care of. He never was good about hiding his intentions and after you told Deralyct about him. Our Lord had me do a little digging. This world your a part of now is dangerous. If your not careful your going to meet someone stupid or just clever enough to take you out despite your mark.” she stepped back and smiled at me. “I’ll leave you to your duties. Lord Jon.” she said, saluting my title with a limp hand and walked away before I could ask her for details.

Grathel had been planning to kill me. I knew we hadn’t gotten along but I hardly thought a little head butting was enough to kill someone over. Maybe it had been my position, he hadn't hid his contempt for my status as a servant. I looked around at the demons moving around me and a thin cord of fear shivered down my back, leaving me cold. There was no way to know. I just had to be extra vigilant and report anything strange to Deralyct. Though he couldn’t protect me from everything. I shook my head clear of those thoughts and turned, heading for the platforms that were now ready to take me to the next enclosure. There wasn't anything I could do about it right now. I just had to work on finding a way to protect myself before anyone else got any ideas.

“Are you planning to enlist the aid of any other groups in the cages?” Deralyct asked me towards the end of my report. He was turned away from me, standing beside a massive rack upon which sat his armor and sword, and now wore a tan shirt. Two slits had been cut into the back to allow for his wings to move free of the shirts confines with ties at the bottom along the slits so they could be tied close to get rid of any leftover opening after the shirt was on.

He wore thick black pants, his tail remained free behind him due to a cleverly designed hole in the back that let it hang free without pulling the pants down. The clothes were so plain on him in contrast to the armor that I had trouble looking away. The Demon King attention was pulled away from me today as he made ready for the oncoming move.

Apparently somewhere in the city his armies had been hard at work building him a palace on earth and over the course of the next few days we would be moving operations to it. I didn't understand the full plan behind the change but I had been told I would be moving with them and that that was all I needed to know. I resolved never to ask Slera for information again.

This report had gone easier, I had taken more notes and before I arrived I had thought about the questions he might ask. I had fumbled a few times but on the whole I thought he approved of my improvement. But I was too nervous to enjoy it. Allura's words bounced around inside my head and nothing I did or thought could shake them loose. In a way this report had been worse than yesterdays. Deralyct always awakened a pit of fear when I was around him. Something that big and powerful...it was instinctive. That fear combined with the anxiety from earlier buzzed around my chest, leaving me feeling sick.

“Not at this moment, My Lord, I think I can now focus my attention on other measures such as securing the perimeter of the cages and maintaining supplies.” I said hastily after realizing I had let the silence drag on for to long. He nodded and turned to me the shirt was fit loosely against his body to allow for the obsidian horns that grew down his back and from his body and ,despite the extra give, the shirt snagged against them. The motion pulled the shirt tight against his physique and if I tried not to stare where it pulled over his chest and arms. How could anyone be that big?

“Then you are dismissed. There have been reports of an escape brewing in cage eight. Tomorrow you will try to discover if this is true and put an end to the scheming.” He turned back away from me to his armor. I paused. Was it ok to ask him questions? He had dismissed me and he was busy preparing for the move. I probably shouldn't say anything. Anxiety and curiosity fought inside me until he noticed I hadn’t moved and turned back to me. Eye ridge raised.

“Is there something else?” he asked. He took a step closer and looked at me. I took a breath.

“Yes, my Lord, actually. It's about Grathel.” It had been bothering me all day, I wanted to know what had happened and it felt like Allura had been hiding something from me. I thought maybe knowing for sure would bring some peace of mind, “Allura told me about what he was planning but she didn’t really explain...what happened to him.” I prompted the words dying on my lips as I saw the look on Deralyct's face. Deralyct sighed and pinched between his eyes.

“Allura needs to learn to bite her tongue.” He said finally, his voice had fallen into a growl “It was no secret I was planning to be rid of him but when he chose to make a move against you, someone protected by my mark, I was forced to deal with him quickly.” He looked at me and narrowed his eyes. He was silent for a moment before walking past me toward the door. “Follow me.” he ordered stiffly.

I followed him out of his chambers and down the hall, surprised by his change in demeanor, I bit my lip and furrowed my brow. Why had I pried? I should have just been happy with Allura’s explanation and let it rest. I didn't want to antagonize Deralyct and I felt I had somehow hit a nerve. It took a while to get to our destination and most of the journey was spent in silence. Demon’s occasionally tried to talk to Deralyct but a single look or growl from him made them back away quickly and I began to worry as I wondered where we were going.

We finally reached a large metal door. Deralyct shoved it open without pausing and the metal screeched open with a bang. We were now in a courtyard filled with flagstones, coarse, dry, grass stuck through stubbornly in places but beyond that the yard was barren. On one side demons practiced firing massive bows and demonic guns at targets located across the yard. I looked at Deralyct as he surveyed the training soldiers. Why had he brought me here?

“Over there.”” he said, pointing to the far side of the range towards the targets. I strained my eyes and searched the targets. They were stood up on metal poles, vaguely human and demon shaped silhouettes made from wood and hay. I didn’t see anything wrong with the sight until I settled on the last target. An arrow jutted from his chest and multiple burns and wounds poured black blood onto the ground. He wasn’t moving and most of his scales had been sheared away by the abuse but enough of him remained that I could tell it was Grathel.

One of the training demons pulled back a bow and took aim. The arrow hit the demon’s corpse in what remained of its head, popping the only surviving large yellow eye, and the assembled demons roared in triumph pushing the archer around roughly in congratulations. Deralyct was silent as we watched and I tried not to be sick on the floor.

“Why?” I asked looking at Deralyct, “All he did was threaten me. Even if he was planning something he never actually tried to hurt me...” I fumbled for something else to say. Nothing came to mind, all I could focus on was Grathel’s body hanging across the yard, “Why?” I asked again weakly.

Deralyct was silent, I almost thought he hadn't heard me. before turning to look down at me with a strange look on his face. I noticed that I had moved closer to him after seeing Grathel's body. If I reached out my hand I could touch him but before I could think to step away his tail curled around me. Not touching me but trapping me close to his side and stopping me from moving away.

“Because you are mine.” he said softly. He looked back across the field as a demon pulled the arrows from the mangled corpse. “It doesn't matter that you are a slave. It doesn't matter that you are human. It doesn't matter that you are weak.” He turned to me, his tail retreating but I didn’t step away. Even though it became uncomfortable to look up at him from my current angle.

“I protect whats mine.” he said, turning away from me to leave. I paused for a moment before following him. A strange feeling of relief had come over me, flowing through my body like a wave. I had been holding my breath since I had spoken to Allura. Every time a demon walked up to me I had wondered if they were planning something. Every word I said or order I gave I wondered if I was giving a demon reason to hate me. Now I could breathe easier.

But it was more than that. I had been holding my breath since the demons invaded. I had been holding my breath when I killed that demon. I had been holding my breath as I ran from them that first day. I had been holding my breath as I made the deal. I held my breath while my family left. Every moment since that portal opened I hadn’t felt truly safe. I looked up at the back of the Demon Lord in front of me. He had killed a demon that had wanted to kill me. Deralyct had strung him up and let him be target practice to make sure everyone knew I was off limits. As sick as the sight had made me feel and as unsettling as the gesture had been it had helped me relax. After a few moments of staring at Deralyct's back I finally decided that despite his size and power. He made me feel safe when he was around.

I stepped faster, closing the distance between us. If he noticed he didn’t say anything and we walked back to his chambers in silence.

As soon as they had returned Jon had retired to bed. Leaving Deralyct awake with a thousand thoughts roaring in his head. With a gesture Deralyct ignited a fire in the hearth across the room. The room was never cold but the crackle of the flame helped fill the silence as he puzzled through his thoughts. Why? It was a question Deralyct asked himself often in recent days. This time he was questioning his choice to show Jon the fate of the demon Grathel. He remembered how Jon had approached him. Quiet, submissive...afraid.

Deralyct had seen the fear before. Every time he looked at Jon he saw it creeping around his mind, influencing him even when he wasn’t dwelling on it. From the moment he walked into his chambers until now the fear had followed him, even in his dreams. Maybe that is why he had taken Jon to the practice yard. Shown Jon what happens to demons who think they can take what's his.

It had worked. For the first time Deralyct had watched Jon relax. The change had been immediate. Relief radiating off him as one by one his muscles released their tension and allowed the human to breathe freely.

But Deralyct was grappling with another, more troublesome, question. Why had he cared? Everything Deralyct meets is scared of him. Even his generals, to a degree, are afraid of him. Its part of what makes him an unquestioned ruler among his kind. It's part of what holds him above all other demons. It's part of what keeps him apart from other demons.

Deralyct scowled as he stared into the fire. The walk through the palace had put him into a melancholy mood. He turned away from the fire with a sneer. He looked around his chambers. This would be the last time in a while before he returned here. His armor on its rack would be transported to the new palace but the bed and desk would both stay here. He looked at the desk. It had gone idle while he was gone and Deralyct almost reactivated it. There was still so much left to do after all and putting off work never did anyone any good. His gaze landed on the bed. Goodnight, my Lord. Jon had said it yesterday and again a short time ago when he retired.

A pointless phrase to say to a being that doesn't require sleep. From a foolish human who was in way over his head. Deralyct sat on the edge of the bed as he mused. Without his armor he could feel the fabric of the blankets underneath him, soft and smooth, it had absorbed some of the heat from the fire and felt pleasant under him even though his own internal body temperature burned much higher. The mattress gave comfortably as he sat down and then pushed him back up as he spread out his weight to lay down.

Carefully he ducked his head under the curtain and tucked his wings tightly behind him to allow him to lay flat across his back. His tail swept between his legs, the appendage was too long to lay straight without the tip falling off the edge of the bed even though the bed was built for a being his size. The tip swung lazily off the edge as Deralyct looked up at the ceiling. He closed his eyes with a sigh.

A foolish human indeed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my god its happening *waves hands in panic* the first sparks are beginning to show between our two...ok not heroes but our demon lord and servant. Next chapter we see if those sparks can survive as Jon discovers a demon plot that he is, unintentionally, helping to move along.   
> Also remember when I said somewhere over 300 word chapters? apparently my estimate was wrong and the past couple chapters have me thinking over 4000 words a chapter from now on is closer. I hope thats not a problem.


	7. The cost of a Choice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jon's work is finally concluded but he is suddenly faced with the reality that his choices have consequences he didn't intend. Deralyct has another talk with Jon which forces Jon to take a good look at himself and in the process makes him realize that maybe he had an ulterior subconscious motive to making the deal after all.

"Take it.” I said, “You’re going to need your strength.” It had been three days since Lord Deralyct had shown me what happened to Grathel and, while the image of his punishment still haunted me, I had begun to come to terms with it as well as everything else I had seen since the demons invaded.

Right now I was trying to stretch our last supplies among all the survivors. The grocery stores had finally run out and pretty soon people were going to start really starving again. The women I had been talking to warily took the rations from me before scuttling off as quickly as she could. As soon as she was out of sight I surveyed the area for any sign of my demons acting out of line.

I saw a kalavakus approach me and frowned. I recognized him as this encampments quartermaster and from the look on his face he had bad news. When I had first met him I was unsettled, he was the same species as the demon I killed, and no matter what I told myself looking at him reminded me of that day.

“Lord Jon.” he said, his voice was low and guttural, his teeth were too large for his mouth like he wore dentures over his real teeth to make them more intimidating. Even closed his mouth gave the impression of being full. “We have little supplies to spare and the scavenged goods begin to fall to the abyssal contagion.” I sighed. This had become an increasing problem.

Apparently as the demon’s invaded the portals leaked abyssal energy. This energy seeped into everything around it. The corruption even infected the weather, increasing the heat and turning the rain acidic, more pressingly the corruption was rotting even canned goods and was the main culprit in our food shortage.

The demon was still waiting patiently for a response. Another change since Deralyct had made an example of Grathel was that the compound demons were more willing to obey my commands. I guess news of the punishment went far.

“Make it spread as much as you can.” I said, “Use the officers like usual. I’ll talk to Our Lord about acquiring more supplies this evening.” The demon nodded and turned away. While I had settled into my role over the past few days I still found being any sort of leader taxing. I was interrupted from my thoughts by a shout. I turned and saw a thin, gray haired, women marching up to me.

I was more surprised than frightened by the women but a couple nearby demons still dropped what they were doing to intercept her. The commotion had drawn some attention from among the rest of the survivors and they began to quiet down in interest.

“Monster!” The women cried, “Heathen! Liar” She clutched a necklace in a shaking hand and based on her movements I guessed it was a cross. I had seen dozens of these people already and grimaced. They never shut up and they never went away. My only hope was to leave the compound and I still had a dozen things to check on here before I could leave with good conscience. I told the demons to keep her back but not harm her and turned to walk away.

“Give me back my son!” she cried, “you took him! You took him from me!” her voice became louder but also more broken up and I turned back just as her face broke into tears. She struggled vainly at the demons who, for their part, valiantly trying to follow my orders even though the woman was making it difficult for them to not hurt her, even by accident.

“Let her through.” I said. The demons stepped back just as the women swung wildly forward. The motioned caused her to keel forward into the dirt and she lay there sobbing before glaring at me with red puffy eyes. She sniffled and wiped her cheeks before standing indignantly, shaking with rage.

“Give me back my son, demon! Or I swear to god,” she held up her necklace and sure enough a tiny gold cross stood fixed between her fingers, “I will curse you back to hell!” I had seen a few of these people as well. Everyone lost someone when the demons invaded and whether they had died, escaped the city, or were in another enclosure I couldn’t help her find her son. I swallowed and looked away before opening my arms in a placating gesture.

“I don’t know what happened to your son.” I said softly, reaching out I lowered her arm so the cross was no longer in my face, “All I’m trying to do is stop more people from dying.” Her face contorted and she pushed off my hand.

“Liar,” she yelled again, “I saw your devil winged seductress take him away. Promising him pleasure of the flesh and whispering evil in his ear.” the woman realized she had an audience among the crowd of survivors and turned to them, wide eyed and fervent, “Yes! Evil! She spoke to him and drew him away, petting him as they went out the gate and I never saw him again!” I ignored the way the crowd buzzed angrily as I tried to understand her claim.

I had no idea what was going on. I didn’t have any succubi under my command and I hadn’t seen any near the cages except...Allura, but what would she want with this woman's son? Or maybe it was one of her soldiers...The women took my silence and the surprise on my face as a confession and pointed at me while still addressing the crowd.

“You see!” she cried out, “The truth binds the tongue of the devil!” she said triumphantly. More voices rose from the crowd and I realized that if this went any further I would officially fail my goal at keeping people calm.

“I’m not a devil.” I said loudly, the women shut up but the crowd continued to murmur angrily. I swallowed, “I have no idea what you saw or where your son is. Why would I have any interest in him? I’m only trying to make sure people get taken care of.”

“What about my brother?” Another voice cried out, this one belonged to man, his face was lost in the crowd but he kept going, “I saw him talking to one of your demon sluts one night and he was gone the next morning!” The group called out in anger and more voices called out with similar stories, demanding to know where their family and friends had gone. The group surged forward a step and it was then I realized that a number of demons had rallied to the noise.

Over a dozen now stood between me and the crowd and they looked ready to beat the group back into submission. The woman began screaming again but her voice was lost among the voices of the crowds and roared orders of the demon’s for people to back away. The noise was deafening filling my ears and making it hard to think.

“Enough!” I yelled as loud as I could, my whole body shook with the effort of being heard and by some miracle the sound wasn’t marred by panic. My voice carried over everyone and the whole yard went silent looking at me. The woman bloated up and opened her mouth again and I fixed her with a glare.

“Shut your fucking mouth.” I said to her low and slowly and she did, so quickly I could almost hear her teeth clack together. I turned to the crowd, I knew they wouldn’t stay quiet long but I wasn’t really sure what to say. If their families had been taken without my knowing then we had a problem and I only knew three people who could give me the information I needed.

“I don’t know where your families are.” I said loudly, the yell had strained my voice far past its usual limits and I knew I would lose my voice if I wasn’t careful. “I didn’t know they were being taken!” The crowd murmured in disbelief and I shook my head. “I know you think I am aware of everything going on in these camps but I don't.” I brandished my mark for all to see and was met with more murmuring. “I’m just as trapped as all of you. All I can say is I can try to find out.” The demons looked back at me in shock and I motioned them to back down.

I had no idea why Allura was abducting people but I was going to get to the bottom of it. I left the camp and hastily handed control of the camp to its warden, a vulture demon called a Vrock, and made my way back to the portal. I knew I wasn’t scheduled to report to Deralyct any time soon but this couldn’t wait. Panic gripped my chest and I leaned against the railing of the spider platform I was taking back to the portal.

People were being abducted under my nose and all I knew was that a succubus had been seen leaving with them. It was my job to keep these people calm and safe and if Deralyct found out...Icy dread spilled down my body and I shivered.

I was just starting to become accustomed to my new role. If Deralyct knew I had failed in my first task...I thought about Grathel. Tied up to a pole in a courtyard and used as target practice. Deralyct had kept me safe when I hadn’t even known I was in danger. The least I could do was not fuck up my first job.

I finally reached the portal and stepped inside but instead of the staging fields I had been expecting I was greeted by the hexagon room, all the murals as vivid and detailed as I remembered. I paused a moment before going to the mural of Deralyct invading the floating cities and pushed. The door nudged and I pushed harder until I could squeeze past. The door closed behind me silently and I walked quickly away from, what now appeared to be, a dead end.

I didn’t have time to wonder why the portal had led me there instead of the staging grounds. I tried to figure out the path from the hexagon portal room to Deralyct’s war council. When he wasn’t in his rooms he was usually there planning the next stages of the invasion and because I was so early, I thought it was my best bet. I had been taken there once but the path had been from his chambers and I was beginning to feel lost.

I finally found a hall I remembered and followed it until I reached the war council room. I raised my hand to open the door and paused. Maybe barging in like this was the wrong idea. I doubt Deralyct, as well as anyone else in the room, would appreciate my disturbing their planning.

“Jon?” I heard behind me and was greeted by on other than Allura. The strawberry blond succubus looked actually surprised to see me. “I was sent to find you. How did you get here?” she asked eyebrow raised. Before I could explain she winked with a smirk and said, “I know that it's hard to be away from our master’s side but you need to learn to contain yourself.” She walked past me and pushed open the door into the council room before I could even try and come up with a retort.

The room had four doors, one for each wall, and a heavy chandelier rested on the ceiling. The entirety of the room was dominated by a large table surrounded by chairs for every size of demon, each one built to a specific individual. At the head of the table stood a simple throne made of stone, almost no decoration adorned it surface but the demon sitting in it made up for its lack of splendor.

Deralyct sat in full armor looking at the table which, much like his desk, seemed to have a sort of arcane display. This table however was capable of forming three dimensional images of orange and red light and currently the plans for what looked like a relatively small but ornate palace was built from light in front of him. With a scowl at me Slera swiped a hand across the table and the image disappeared. Deralyct looked over to me and even from under his helmet I could feel his eye ridge rise.

“You have returned quickly Allura.” he said, his voice was even and calm in a way that told me he was growing tired of endless planning, “I only sent you for him a few minutes ago.” Allura strode forward and bowed before going to his side and facing me.

“I found him just outside the door.” she said with a wide smile, “I didn’t even need to leave the palace walls.” Slera scoffed.

“Abandoning your post?” she asked me, “You will do well to remember that no one-” Deralyct raised a hand to stop her scolding and she quieted immediately but continued to glare from the far side of his throne.

“But she is has a point.” Deralyct said turning his attention back to me. “You have left your assigned task before you were meant to report. Explain.” I bowed slightly before looking back up at the Demon King.

“Of course my Lord. I apologize if there was a better way of doing this but it has come to my attention that some of the survivors have gone missing.” As I spoke I saw Allura’s face change from surprise to understanding. Slera however never lost her scowl.

“Missing in what way?” she asked, “Did they run into the night?” Allura stepped forward.

“No, my dear general, I believe I can explain.” she turned to Deralyct and bowed again, “I believe he is speaking of my efforts to spread your word. It is possible I...neglected to notify him of my work.” she turned to me. “No doubt you are speaking about the people that have left the cages after speaking with me or one of my soldiers. It’s simple.” she smiled but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “We offered them deals and they took them.” 

I chill crawled up my spine. Deals? What was she talking about?

“After a successful invasion once the rabble are gathered me and my soldiers go among them and offer then a place beyond that of a mere slave, if they are of use.” she said. The succubus eyes looked at me with something almost like pride. “Some of them even come to us for deals, much like you, and it is my task to...negotiate these offers, and I must say because of you we have been especially busy.” my ears were ringing and I felt weak standing up.

“What do you mean because of me?” I said, trying to keep the panic from my voice, “I had no idea this was happening.” I swallowed and before taking a deep breath to calm myself. “I had nothing to do with this.”

“Not directly of course.” Allura conceded with a nod of her head, “But seeing you take charge of demons and having them listen to you has filled the minds of many of the prisoners. Ideas of a better life wielding power similar to yours.” But that power was temporary. As soon as Deralyct was ready he was going to remove everyone once that happens...I actually didn’t know what would happen to me after the people were gone.

But people were making deals because of me...because they thought it would make them powerful. Because they thought they would be safe. I looked up at the three demons in front of me and realized they had probably known the effect I would have on people when they put me in charge. Even Slera looked mildly less hostile. Deralyct stood.

“It is done.” he said, stretching out his wings, his wings lowered and he rolled his shoulders, “The deals are struck and you were called here to my side because your work is done. We are prepared to move into the earth palace and the slaves will be secured.” That was it? I was done? I briefly remembered I had promised to talk to Deralyct about securing more food and then he stepped in front of me.

Through his visor I could see his eyes and I felt that if he wasn’t so tall as to make it impractical he would have put a hand on my shoulder. Slera strode past me and gave a curt nod though her face never softened.

“Despite my misgivings I admit you performed your orders adequately.” she said, her voice clipped but even, “Despite the obvious need for improvement, you could prove useful to our Lord.” she left the room and I turned to watch the general leave in shock. Allura laughed behind Deralyct and strode around him.

“That's probably the highest praise she will ever give you.” Allura said, she did place a hand on my shoulder and, before I could react, used the hand as leverage to kiss my cheek. I could feel her power flow from her lips through my body, forcing a blush. She laughed at my discomfort and sauntered away.

“It’s unlikely that you will get further praise from either of them.” Deralyct said, turning my attention back to him, the Demon King had watched both interactions in amusement and now, I realized, we were alone. “Unless you work hard that is.” He said, beginning to leave as well. He motioned me to follow him and followed a step behind him.

Despite Allura’s kiss and Slera’s first non threatening words to me I couldn’t take my mind fully off what Allura had said. Thanks to me, people were losing their souls. I rubbed my mark. I guess I could understand why they thought my current life was better. But it was far from ideal. Now that I no longer had a place commanding demons to keep people fed and relatively happy I didn’t know what to expect.

Thankfully Deralyct was quiet as we marched the now familiar route to his chambers so I had plenty of time to think. If I had known maybe I would have spread my story. If people knew I made the deal to save my family instead of power maybe they would be less keen on selling themselves. I looked up at Deralyct. The armor covered most of his skin but his wings were still open for me to see. I looked over the increasingly familiar scars that laced them.

Deralyct wasn’t as bad as I had assumed when I first saw him. But this wasn’t the life I would have picked if I had a choice. I closed my eyes and dropped my head to the floor, memorizing the tile instead. I did have a choice. I chose this. My family was safe because of it but even if I somehow got free I didn’t think I would ever feel clean after aiding the pacification of my own people.

People I had known people I had-

“Jon?” Deralyct had stopped and I had stopped with him, on instinct, I had been too deep in thought to notice. I looked up at the Demon King.

“Is there anything you need my Lord?.” I asked. My feelings had to wait, I wasn’t going to get much sleep tonight dealing with them. Deralyct had turned to look at me and I noticed we were standing next to a window.

“You’re quiet.” Deralyct said looking away from me towards the window, inspecting the dunes with a critical eye, I bet he could see those fortresses out in the dessert. His tail swung around towards me and if I was willing to risk it I could grab it. I couldn’t bring myself to feel any amusement from the thought and I let it pass away. “You have something on your mind.”

It wasn’t a question. I heard the silent command and sighed before trying to find a way to express myself without angering the ten foot demon beside me.

“People are selling their souls because of me.” I said finally. I looked out the window as well, searching the horizon for any sign of anything but sand and obsidian but found nothing. I continued searching, it made it easy to ignore when Deralyct turned his gaze on me.

“People are selling their souls because of me.” I repeated, my voice broke slightly and I paused to collect myself, swallowing despite my dry throat, “and I can’t even say they shouldn’t because I chose this.” I couldn’t look away from the horizon. If I stopped looking I might lose control completely. “I chose to sell my soul and now people are going to do the same thing because they think they can get a bunch of power or money or safety but they can’t.” I finally ripped my eyes from the horizon and met Deralyct’s gaze.

Both our gazes burned if for different reasons. He was quiet as he broke my gaze to turn his head evenly to the side to inspect the horizon again. After a few moments he pointed out the window. I looked towards where he was pointing but the bit of horizon he pointed out was just as nondescript as the rest.

“I don’t-”

“Beyond your sight lies the fortress Hatherag. Everyone who makes a deal to join me is training there.” He looked down at me and lowered his hand. We both continued to inspect the point of the horizon. “Everyone one of them made their choice. A choice they made alone.”

“But how many of them made that choice after they saw me?” I said, “Commanding demons and passing out food and water. It must have seemed like I was in control. Instead I’m a…” I stopped. “When I made my choice I didn’t think it would affect so many other people.”

Deralyct was silent before reaching out a hand. Inside his palm a ball of fire grew. I stared at it until my eyes ached. He closed his fist around the flame and I watched it sputter from between his fingers until it died.

“Every choice we make affects everyone around us.” He said looking at me, “the more power you have, or the more power people think you have, the more your actions affect them. But it’s their choice. The weak follow where the strong go because they are so affected by the people around them they can’t make decisions for themselves. That is why you should hold your head high.” His tail brushed against my leg as he turned to look at me fully.

“You are a servant of Deralyct. The soul who fought and defeated a Kalavakus despite all the odds against you. The soul who broke into a Demon King’s abyssal realm and struck a deal not for himself but for his family. The soul who instead of dominating those under his power chose to feed them and treat their wounds and forced demons to help him.” He said, his eyes burning brightly from inside his visor, as he watched me.

“Every choice you have made has led you here. All of them,” He nodded out the window to Hatherag, “they were caught up in your wake. You are a leader and a leader should not question their actions. Don’t concern yourself with what they do. They are beneath you.” he turned to leave. I waited by the window.

“Why did you take the deal?” I asked. I almost thought he didn’t hear me but he paused, from this perspective the light from the suns glanced off his armor and cascaded around the hall. The bleeding red light cast the Demon Lord in an unearthly glow that accentuated his horns and the demonic skulls of his armor. He turned back to me and the light filled the shadows around his eyes, burning crimson.

“Because you fought and won.” He said, “You won and escaped and you gave it all for someone else. Sold yourself away for no reward.” something in the air changed and when he looked at me now I could see curiosity. He looked me up and down slowly, like I was a new puzzle and he thought he could figure where all the pieces went just by looking at me, before he looked into my eyes with such intensity that I couldn’t look away. “No one gives away everything for nothing. I want to know why you did.”

With that he turned and walked away. I stared at his back than looked out at the dunes. After a few moments of staring and I went after him. I made the deal to save my family. That was it. I didn’t have any other motivation. Did I?

That night I stayed up late, as I expected, but not for the reasons I was expecting. He was right, I couldn’t control other people. Maybe they made their choice to sell their souls because of me but it was their choice to make. It wasn’t my fault if they chose poorly. I was sitting on the bed as I waited for my thoughts to either wind down so I could sleep or for the bells to ring and tell me a new day had started and frankly I thought the bells were the most likely ending to this night.

“But choosing between physical and spiritual enslavement is a difficult choice…” I mused softly, it’s easy to say you want summer in winter only to find the heat makes you want winter again, but I wasn’t thinking about other people's choices. I was thinking about my own choices. Specifically my choice to make a deal.

I had been free. After I killed the demon I was doing pretty well at hiding and running, if I hadn’t seen Alyssa and Brandon in that cage I probably wouldn't have come back. I would have gone home found them gone and hoped they were out of the city and made my way into the military’s waiting arms. Safe.

But I did come back. I came back and I decided to sell my soul to a Demon King for their freedom. Their freedom. Yet I couldn’t help feel like there was something else to it. I was missing something. I loved them? Yes. I gave myself up for them? Yes. but what about me?

Deralyct’s words echoed in my head, making it hard to concentrate on anything else, keeping me focused. No one gives away everything for nothing. Yet what had I gotten since making my deal? My new life was full of danger and stress and horrific sights and a cryptic Demon King I couldn’t come close to understanding even though it was literally my new purpose to spend the rest of my life enslaved to him. 

I lay back on my bed aggressively. Venting my frustrations. The bed was surprisingly soft and it took the abuse gracefully as I tried, unsuccessfully, to unravel that little knot in my head. At least he was easy to look at. I thought closing my eyes.

My new life…

I opened my eyes. That was it. My new life. I sat up in bed and looked at the floor, my eyes scanned the plain stone beneath me without seeing anything, putting the pieces together. I hadn’t thought about my old life in days. In fact, I never thought about it at all unless it was thrust into my face like with Megan and Horace.

Not once had I wished for my old bed, for the place I called home, not once had I wondered about other coworkers who hadn’t been working when the demon’s invaded. I never lamented not going to college or my favorite places to eat or my old things or my job.

Since they left I hadn’t even spared a thought for my family.

And that was it. I thought as a tears began to fall from my face. That’s what I got out of the deal. A new life. Away from family, away from my job, away from everything I’m supposed to love and want. I realized how alone I really had been before. How I buried it under hateful thoughts and ignored the way I felt when I saw other people living lives adjacent to mine.

I gave it all away because to me it hadn’t been worth much to me at all. But that wasn’t why I was crying. I was crying because, even knowing the grass was dead and brown on the other side, I didn’t miss my old life at all.

I would have made the deal even if I had known how it would turn out.

Deralyct had left soon after dismissing Jon. He walked the palace halls and thought about their conversation. Jon hadn’t known about his ulterior motive. That much was clear, if it was a mystery to even Jon than it would be more satisfying for the Demon King when he did discover the secret.

The human had done well in his first task. With him keeping the slaves healthy and happy they had been much easier to coerce and the ranks of his human agents had swelled. However now that his task was complete he would have to begin his more traditional duties. Deralyct didn’t know how he felt about that.

Jon would be spending much more time with him and Deralyct wasn’t sure he was ready to give up his peace and solitude yet. Deralyct scowled at himself, thankfully hidden under his helmet so he didn’t scare the group of soldiers that happened to be standing in front of him. They saluted as he passed and he nodded to them as he passed.

It almost seemed like he was running from the idea of having a servant around. Although the Demon King didn’t require help he knew that the human could be taught to alleviate his burdens where he could. Perhaps Jon could read his reports… no.

Slera would lose her head if she discovered Deralyct ever exposed Jon to the reports she submitted. Her trust was not easily earned, especially not by merely pacifying some slaves, as impressive as the job had been, relatively speaking.

Deralyct was suddenly faced with a door and he pushed it open only to realize he was in the courtyard were he had Grathel punished and executed. The last time he was here Jon had been at his side. He had stood so close. Very few dared to stand that close to Deralyct. He probably hadn’t even noticed as distraught as the human had been. Still the courtyard was as good a place as any to stand and muddle through his thoughts.

After a few minutes Deralyct decided it would be fine. The human was not terribly draining to be around and even if he did start to grate on Deralyct’s nerves he could be sent away easily enough. Already the human was starting to read Deralyct’s moods. Deralyct frowned and his tail lashed behind him, suddenly agitated.

He had to be less casual with the human. He had let down his guard and the human was starting to learn how he behaved. That was a dangerous road. If the human became familiar he may get ideas that will entice him to act out of his station and that would not do. They were master and servant and that is how they would remain. A Demon King doesn't need friends, only allies...and an army.

Deralyct nodded to himself before turning inside to leave. The demons practicing in the courtyard puffed out their chests, thinking that nod had been for them, and went back to practice with new vigor. It was decided. It had been a long time since Deralyct had had consistent contact with anyone but Allura and Slera. He had gotten sloppy and that would end tomorrow when he and Jon moved to the new palace to enact the next phase of his plan.

They would return to being master and slave and Deralyct would no longer be plagued by thoughts like these. Unless, of course, he had a moment to spare to puzzle out why the human had made the deal in the first place.

Soon everything would return to normal. The invasion would continue and Deralyct had a new tool to use in the subjugation of the rest of this world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now we get into the "forced contact" phase. Without anyone or anything to distract Jon e starts spending a lot more time around the Demon King and oh so slowly the two will start to drive each other insane. In the best way. Also the next stage of Deralyct's plan isn't what you think and it's a curve ball Jon will struggle to handle.


	8. Bitter Homecoming

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jon is growing into his new duties as full time servant to Deralyct but is dealing with the starting flutters of a full blown crush. Deralyct for his part is keeping his distance and they both think that distance is for the best. However a routine appraisal of Deralyct's new lands bring them Jon's former home and in that humble abode they experience something together that changes the dynamics. Permanently.

With barely an effort Deralyct sent his assailant flying. The demon landed on its back and I heard a sickening crack as it’s wing broke under the impact. It rose and took up its stance and roared at the Demon King, one wing hanging useless behind it, and charged back at him.

This was a new occurrence for me, although I was told Deralyct often spars when he wasn’t actively involved in something important, but over the course of the past few days I had gotten use to it. In the mornings I would accompany Deralyct to the courtyard where he would systematically curb stomp about a dozen of his soldiers and lieutenants even taking on multiple demons without difficulty. It was almost fun to watch and probably the easiest part of my day.

Now that I was no longer in charge of the cages my duties had changed to accompanying the Demon King wherever he went and following his orders. Most of my day consisted of playing messenger for him and the generals but whenever he didn’t need a report or message run I was by his side. I took a step to the right as the demon sailed past me and didn’t get back up.

I checked to see if it was still breathing and gave Deralyct a thumbs up. He waved his sword at me in recognition and turned to the next victim-partner. The Demon King was shirtless and I turned my attention to his opponent while biting my cheek. They circled each other before Deralyct took a step forward and swung his sword to begin the dual.

The horns that started at his head continued down his neck to just above his shoulder blades and from then on was a large expanse of impressive muscle. Scars cut across his back, barely visible against the black of his skin, and when the fight turned him towards me I could see them continue around his, slightly lighter colored, chest. Sweat gave his skin a sheen and from where I watched I could almost see individual beads roll down his body before they either fell off as he moved or got caught in the waistband of his- I looked back at his opponent.

This demon went down just as fast as the ones before it, breaking an arm as it attempted to block a blow from Deralyct, who then kicked it into the ground hard enough to break the flagstone beneath it. The demon didn't get back up. The demon was dragged away by a couple observers and a small demon began chanting over it and I watched as the arm slowly began to straighten itself.

Deralyct turned to me and, gesturing for me to follow, headed into the palace. I followed quickly, stepping around the crater the stomp had left behind, and caught up with him. Our rooms were only a short distance from the courtyard and we walked in silence.

This palace was nowhere near as grand as his palace in the abyss but it was still opulent by my standards. The castle was built from a smooth black rock, almost like obsidian, and from the outside appeared very intimidating.  
The interior however was made from wooden floors and marble walls which were much more inviting. Like Deralyct’s abyssal palace many works of art dotted the halls but they rarely featured anything as gruesome or horrific as the art on those walls.

The art, while still demonic in origin, was tame in its content and didn’t feature the depraved and bloody acts I had come to know from demon styles of artwork. We soon reached the door that led to our chambers. The doors, and the overall proportions, of the castle were smaller so they left only a few inches of space between Deralyct’s head and the top of the door frame.

Deralyct’s room was as barren as his former chambers. A bed, his armor rack, and a desk, although this one was non magical and currently was covered in small stacks of paper, were the only furnishings other than a large marble fireplace in the left wall. Three doors populated the walls one on the left and two on the right. The left door led to his closet and the right doors, from farthest to closest, led to his shower and my own room respectively.

“Prepare for the day and then await further orders.” Deralyct said, propping his sword in its place next to his armor. I bowed in recognition. Deralyct had changed since we came here. We had barely spoken in the past few days and never about anything of importance. Really he just ordered me around and I acknowledged it. A far cry from the talks we had had before.

I left into my room and prepared the uniform I would be wearing for the rest of the day. My room had only a bed, desk, and dresser with three doors. One led into the hall, the door into Deralyct’s room I had just entered through, and then the room into the bathroom. I paused and looked around the room with a sigh, nothing about it felt like mine and I wished for some sort of comforting familiarity, before gathering my clothes from the dresser.

I entered the bathroom and turned on the shower before setting down my uniform on a small table, out of reach of the water, and quickly I stripped and entered the stream of water. The bathroom itself was small but clean and completely normal except that it had two doors.

One led back into my room and then, on the opposite wall, there was a door that led into Deralyct’s shower, which was more of a pool with varying levels than an actual shower. The deepest level was deep enough for Deralyct to stand in water up to his waist while the highest was so shallow it only reached my knees.

I had discovered the shower during my initial exploration of the rooms and was, to put it mildly, a little distracted by the way the two rooms were connected. I stood under the stream for a few moments listening carefully.

Even though the walls were thick I could hear what sounded like a waterfall and surmised that Deralyct was washing away the dust and sweat of the mornings battles. I tried not to think about that or the fact the door that connected our showers didn’t have a lock. I had checked. Both sides. No lock.

I sighed and grabbed a cloth and began scrubbing myself with enough force to leave the skin red. I shouldn’t feel this way I thought with a scowl. I shouldn’t be thinking like that. He was a demon I sold my soul too after he invaded my planet.  
He was the one responsible for all the death and pain that had plagued everyone the past few weeks. It shouldn't matter that he protected me from Grathel, or that he hadn’t hurt me since we made the deal, or single handedly kept me from breaking down with guilt and fear, or that he was built like a warrior god...

Fuck.

I hung my head in shame and rested it on the wall, letting the hot water roll down my back, and sighed. I closed my eyes and focused on pushing those thoughts down. Why out of everyone I had ever met did my mind have to decide it wanted to be attracted to him? This wasn’t the first time I had felt this way about someone but all those people had at least been, technically, human. Even if some of them had turned out to be assholes.

I focused on controlling my thoughts as I finished my shower until I had calmed down and was capable of thinking about Deralyct without any unacceptable emotions confusing my thoughts. I quickly washed my hair and dried myself before putting on my uniform and heading into Deralyct’s chambers to await my orders.

I didn’t have to wait long before the door to his shower opened and he walked out in an undershirt and pants. He moved past me and I noticed the space between his wings had dampened his shirt and that made it stick to his skin. I forced my eyes away from the wet part of the shirt and counted to ten to recenter myself.

He moved to his armor rack and began to don his armor without a word. I stepped forward and began to help him with the straps. Up close his armor was far more detailed than I had previously given it credit for and I briefly wondered if I would ever get the chance to actually study it. This was another thing I had learned how to do since my time became mostly about helping him as much as I could, though I had no doubt he could do it faster than me, and I wondered why he bothered having me do it. Not that I could really complain in my current state. Standing this close to him wasn't helping me control myself but was pleasant regardless.

The Demon King knelt, as I worked to strap his breastplate on, bringing his head closer to my level. I had had plenty of practice doing this over the past few days but I still failed to ignore the heat and scent came off him in waves and my breathing quickened in response. I felt his eyes on me and moved faster, securing the last strap, and stepping back to put some distance between us freeing myself from his scent, metal and fire, in the process.

He didn’t seem to notice my discomfort and grabbed his sword sheathing it behind his back in a carefully crafted pocket built into his armor. He left his helmet on the rack, I still had no idea how he got that thing on, and opened the door and motioned me to follow him.

“We will be finishing our appraisal of my new territory today.” He said, “Gather the guard have them meet me at the gate immediately.” he never looked back to address me. His coldness stung but I had no choice but to nod and do as he said.

“Yes, my lord.” I said behind him breaking of to head to the barracks, I looked back for a moment at Deralyct, he hadn’t recognized that I had left his side, and he walked away as if I had never been there. He didn’t used to be this way and I didn’t know what I had done, if anything, to bring about this change. I looked forward and focused on my orders. It didn’t matter. I felt a sudden pressure on my chest and took a deep breath. He was a Demon King and I was his slave, this was probably for the best.

The appraisal was less an actual estimation of the territories value and more of a leisurely walk through the various parts of Freetown. It was Deralyct’s chance to formally survey his new land without anyone trying to shoot at him now that the military stuck to the perimeter.

Deralyct rarely made a comment as we walked and never to me so I had spent the last hours in silence. His guards were terrible conservationists and I wasn't really in the mood to talk anyway the way my feet hurt. Being a former employee of a restaurant I was no stranger to spending hours on my feet but I still found it difficult to keep up with the demons and, as a result of my slowing pace, the space between me and Deralyct had grown. The appraisal had taken up the better part of the last few days and, thankfully, this was the last day.

I couldn’t really celebrate as witnessing the appraisal had really driven home how much damage had been done. I resolutely forced myself to acknowledge that the destruction wasn’t my fault but it was difficult to watch as we passed places I had been going to for years that were now damaged or collapsed. I carefully scanned the area we walked through for any sign that something had survived the invasion untouched but not a single building was unmarred or sullied in some way and my eyes fell, downcast at sight of the city around me. I saw a street sign lying on the road and my eyes read it on instinct. 48th street Southwest.

I looked up and scanned the surrounding buildings and I realized that I recognizing them now that I was paying attention. The store where we had done most of our shopping, the little barber shop owned by Harrietta, even that stupid stop sign forever hidden by a tree. My old home was only a street down and if I craned my neck I thought that I could see the top of the roof. I looked down with cloudy eyes and wrapped my arms around myself.

I hadn’t thought about my home since I turned around to help Alyssa and Brandon when they were trapped in the walking cage and even with my revelation a few nights past concerning my old life I was still hit by the fact that I would never call that place home again.

I heard a small commotion ahead and looked up, the company had slowed, and Deralyct was looking at me. I met his eyes for a moment before looking away again. No point in asking him if I could visit it given his behavior the past few days. I hoped we would pass it as part of the appraisal if only so I could see how it fared. I knew Alyssa and Brandon had been taken from there so it was probably damaged to some extent but I that didn’t stop me from hoping it was at least mostly intact.

The company began moving again and but I wasn’t really paying attention. After a couple minutes I realized that I was standing close to Deralyct. I scowled internally and purposefully slowed my steps, just because I was suddenly feeling sad didn’t mean I had an excuse to crowd Deralyct. After the distance between us had been returned to a healthy five or six feet I matched the groups movement again only to find that within a few steps Deralyct was close to me again.

He had closed the distance between us and I mentally strangled the glad feelings that weaseled into my chest cavity with stoic pragmatism. If he was moving close to me it was because he had an order for me. He had no reason to care if I felt sad or care that I wanted to visit my old home I told myself sternly but that didn’t stop me from taking some comfort in just having him nearby.

49th street. My eyes saw the street sign, this one standing tall, and my steps faltered for a moment. If we took a left we would walk right past it. I looked down the road longingly but the curve of the road blocked my house from view.

“Halt.” Deralyct said, the company stopped moving immediately and waited for his next order. He motioned me to follow him and began to walk down my street. Dual emotions wrestled in my chest as my conscious mind struggled to keep both of them in check. Half of me felt almost giddy to be alone with him but the other half remained hyper aware of how close we were to my old house and the fact that it was probably ruined.

“What is it about this road that calls to you?” He asked without looking at me, we had stopped far enough away that we could talk without worrying about his guards overhearing us. After how cold he had been acting in the past few days he suddenly was asking about my feelings? I had never deluded myself into thinking we were actually friendly, no matter what my feelings for him, but once we moved he had made it clear he didn’t see me as anything but a servant. Yet lying or refusing to answer would probably only cause problems.

“I used to live on this street.” I said, my voice quiet from disuse and emotion, I didn’t feel like elaborating further. I doubted the Demon King would take much interest and started to head back to the guards.

“Show me.” I heard him say and paused. I looked back at him with wide eyes, my mouth slightly open, and waited for him to say something else. His face was passive and didn’t belay any clues as to why he would want to see where I had lived before I met him but he seemed serious. Of course he was serious. I had never seen him make a joke, not even a sarcastic comment.

“I want to see it.” He said looking down at me for a moment before turning and walking down the street in the general direction of my house. I broke out of my surprised stupor and jogged after him, dodging around his tail, and taking the lead. I swear I could feel his eyes on me but when I looked back he was inspecting the rest of the houses on the street.

It didn’t take us long to get there and when we did I stopped. An average blue gray house on an average street but looking at it filled me with everything from trepidation to hope. I could see some signs of damage. The door was kicked in and the a couple windows were broken and a layer of soot and dust had settled over it but it was my house.

Almost reverently I walked up the driveway to the porch. I paused before going up the stairs and looked back at Deralyct. He wasn’t going to fit inside and I wasn’t sure I would be allowed to go off on my own and leave him waiting.

He nodded and I sighed in relief before looking back up at the gaping doorway. The inside was dim so I couldn’t see the extent of the damage but as I climbed the stairs and approached the door I could see more details. The claw marks on the frame, the splinters of the door, the broken lock. I was standing in the doorway now and, with a deep breath that smelled of smoke and dust and home, I stepped inside.

The house didn’t look especially different from any other on the street to Deralyct but from the way Jon’s breath and steps quickened this was the place. The door was broken in and as Deralyct watched the human approach the house he turned to look at the Demon King, eyes wide and hopeful, for permission.

Deralyct nodded and the boy visibly relaxed and entered the house. Deralyct had been keeping good on his promise to keep his distance from his servant. The human had in turn been keeping his own distance and the two had settled into their respective roles without a problem. Until now. The human had suddenly become agitated, it was easy for Deralyct to see, when he had been searching the buildings they passed and reading the signs.

It was such a change from the past few days that Deralyct had been made curious about what had caused the humans sudden change in behavior. Something was causing Jon to act like his old self. The human had drifted to Deralyct’s side as he searched their surroundings, then had backed off, until Deralyct could no longer ignore his presence and was forced to ask him why he was unsettled.

Now they were wasting time as the human explored his former home for...Deralyct didn’t actually know. And that made him curious. Maybe there was a clue to Jon’s motives in the house and any clue was worth the expense of a little power. Deralyct hadn't spent much time wondering about Jon's ulterior motive but this was probably the best place to get an idea of what truly controlled the human's actions.

He called his power to him and had anyone been watching they would have seen the light in his eyes flare and a brief flare of power light around his body as the Demon King shrunk. It wasn’t an overly dramatic change, Deralyct still towered over most people, but it was enough that the demon lord could walk up the steps and through the door of the house without difficulty. He paused to inspect the damage on the doorway before entering to see how far the damage extended.

The first room of the house was a mess. The television had fallen over and the couch was in disarray. Deralyct guessed his soldiers had pushed the couch away to grab whoever had been hiding behind it but his eyes were drawn to movement on his left.

Jon was staring at him. The human was kneeling on the floor, looking at a deep gouge from where a demon’s claws had ripped the flooring, and seemed extremely surprised the demon lord had entered the house. His shock was short lived however as he stood and dusted off his hands and went deeper into the house followed by the demon lord.

The rest of the house seemed undamaged, Deralyct stopped in front of a short table and picked up a photo of Jon and his family, and the human pushed on ahead. It was taken fairly recently. The family appeared similar in age to when Deralyct had met them a week ago. They were in a park of some kind and posed for the picture. Deralyct looked at Jon in the photo, he was smiling, and something twisted in his chest.

The Jon in the photo looked happy. The Jon Deralyct knew never smiled like that. He barely smiled at all. This Jon lacked shadows under his eyes, this Jon lacked the sickly paleness of the Jon he owned. He had one arm thrown around his sister and the other was holding his brother while his father stood behind the three, smiling, with pride in his eyes. They had been close.

Deralyct remembered the way Jon’s family had looked at him when they left, the hate, the fear. So different from the way they were in the photo, now that Deralyct had marked them. He set the photo down as fast as he could and turned away quickly, ignoring the way it burned into his back, as he went into the next room.

Jon was nowhere to be found and Deralyct slowly reached out with his arcane senses to the human’s mark to find him...upstairs. Deralyct went up the stairs and they creaked heavily under him. He mentally cursed their shoddy construction as he used more of his power to prevent them from breaking under his weight.

He found Jon in a room that smelled strongly like him and dust. The human was sitting on the bed and was staring at nothing. The human didn’t even look up at the Demon King as he entered the room, completely lost to the world. Deralyct looked around and after finding nothing else of interest walked over to his servant.

In his hands there was a bundle of photos like the one downstairs and they hung so limply in his hands that a few had fallen to the floor.The human’s eyes dripped tears down onto the floor and ignored it when Deralyct stood in front of him. Deralyct took a step forward and knelt down to pick up one of the fallen cards. This one was just of Jon’s younger brother blowing out candles stuck into a cake. Why would a photo like this bring Jon tears? This appeared to be a happy occasion.

“When was this?” Deralyct prompted, hoping the human would break out of his stupor. Jon slowly looked up at the demon lord and then the photo he held. Carefully Jon took it from him and looked at it. After a few seconds he chuckled weakly through his tears and wiped them away.

“Last year. Brandon’s birthday.” he said with a hoarse and soft voice, “It was taken a little bit too early though. A second after I took it he shoved his entire face into the cake. It made a huge mess but we all laughed too much to be mad about it.” He said before falling into silence again.

The silence reigned for a few moments before Jon picked up the fallen photos and put them in the nightstand drawer and stood facing Deralyct.

“I’m all right. We can leave now.” Jon said quickly and walked past him and headed down the stairs in a rush. Deralyct followed at a more reasonable pace and found the human standing just in front of the door. The human was shaking but Deralyct couldn’t hear any crying and stepped in front of him to find he was desperately trying to control himself.The human was taking deep breaths and his fists were clenched so tightly the knuckles stood out white against his skin.

That was it. The memories weren’t sad but they made Jon remember his time with his family. They made him remember his life before the deal.

Something in the Demon Lord clenched up and without thinking he slowly reached out and placed a hand on the humans shoulder. The human flinched before looking up at the demon lord in shock, a single tear fell down his cheek and Deralyct watched it fall halfway down the human's face before wiping it off with his other hand.

“You gave up everything.” Deralyct said, “I won’t blame you for missing it.” The human looked up at the demon lord in shock. Slowly his face changed from surprise before crumpling into tears as he broke down, falling to the floor onto his knees. He leaned forward as large wracking sobs broke from his small body. The reaction surprised Deralyct and something foreign twisted in his chest at the strength of the turmoil in front of him, fear.

Deralyct knelt beside him, hand on his back, and waited. Deralyct was rarely in the position of comforter and didn't know anything else he could do. Deralyct noticed that the human seemed thin, he could feel the humans ribs through his shirt and skin, and wondered if he had been eating properly. Looking at him now, probably not. The demon lord looked back at the photo on the table. The four pairs of eyes stared straight back at him, accusing, pleading. he turned back to the human and sighed.

He couldn’t stand back from this one. He couldn’t play just master and slave. Jon deserved better than that after everything he had done and for everything he would do. He needed help and Deralyct was responsible for fixing the mess he had made.

The house looked horrible. The couch had been thrown aside and the television was broken against the floor. I looked down and saw claw marks gouged into the wood. I knelt down to get a better look and fit my fingers into the marks. They were so much larger than my hands. I couldn’t imagine the fear Alyssa and Brandon had gone through when whatever demon this came from broke into the house and grabbed them.

I heard the wood of the porch creak behind me and looked up from the floor to see Deralyct standing in the doorway. The demon lord had lost at least three feet in height and was able to, barely, fit into the doorway. Why was he coming with me? I didn’t waste much time on that thought as I stood and dusted off my hands. I probably didn’t have a lot of time and he wanted to make sure I didn’t take too long.

I moved quickly through the dining room and kitchen, finding no damage, and quickly mounted the stairs before coming to the first door on the right. My old room. I pushed open the door slowly and was met by the alien familiarity of my old things. My bed against the corner, my bookshelves, my desk, my nightstand. Everything was exactly where I had left it and the dust that settled over everything cemented the fact that no one had come in here while I was gone.

I took a step inside and held my breath. It felt like a time capsule. Only two weeks had passed but already I had changed so much this room didn’t feel like mine anymore. I looked back at the nightstand and opened the drawer. Slowly I took out my secret stash as if the past two weeks had been two hundred years and they would fall into dust in my hands if I was too rough. I wasn’t very good at photography but inside the drawer I kept all the photos I took with old disposable cameras and hid away before Alyssa could censor them.

I sat on the bed with a small smile. Birthdays, family trips, or just random moments where I had a camera where all recorded in my hands. My smile fell as I looked over the photos. Every photo, every face, I was reminded by the looks on my families faces when they left. When I sent them away without an explanation, without a goodbye. Tears filled my eyes as I settled on a photo. Alyssa was throwing a snowball and it had hit my dad in the face, the photo caught the look of shock on both their faces perfectly. It had never failed to make me smile before but now I could barely focus on it.

A familiar gauntlet broke into my vision and picked up a photo. I hadn’t even realized I had dropped any.

“When was this?” Deralyct asked softly. I looked up weakly at the demon lord. I wiped my eyes and took the card. Brandon blowing out his birthday candles. I actually chuckled, I had forgotten about this one, and sat up a little straighter and wiped my tears away.

“Last year. Brandon’s birthday.” I said. I remembered that day vividly, “It was taken a little bit too early though. A second after I took it he shoved his entire face into the cake. It made a huge mess but we all laughed too much to be mad about it.” I fell silent.

This was overwhelming. I couldn’t be here. I had satisfied my curiosity about the fate of the house and now I had to leave. All these memories were dragging things up and I could feel everything I had pushed down coming to the surface. If I didn’t leave now I was going to explode trying to keep myself in check. I picked up the rest of the fallen photos and put the stash away in the drawer before standing.

“I’m all right,” I said, avoiding Deralyct’s eyes, “We can leave now.” and left the room. I walked quickly down the stairs ignoring the growing feeling of panic in my chest. I took deep breaths and bit my cheek as my emotions came to the surface. I was almost out before they stopped me in my tracks and held me only a few steps from freedom.

This was my home. I had lived here most of my life. My family lived here. It was all I knew and everything I had was here. I didn’t want to leave, I wanted to stay. I wanted to cry and scream and shout but I knew I couldn’t let myself lose control like that. I missed them. But they were gone and now I had to move on. I took deep breaths and dug my fingernails into my palm but neither the air or pain was helping me regain my calm.

I heard Deralyct come up behind me and walk around. He blocked my view of the door until all I could see was his chest plate in my face. I felt a heavy hand fall onto my shoulder and I lift my head to look at Deralyct. A single tear fell down my face and he carefully brushed it away, his eyes unreadable. Even the simple touch was too much for me to handle, the sensory overload of being in contact with him was too much for my screaming nerves. Everything felt muted but at the same time I heard him speak with absolute clarity.

“You gave up everything.” Deralyct said, “I won’t blame you for missing it.” The words hit me hard and broke through what fragile control I was managing to contain. I fell to the floor as my knees were suddenly too weak to hold me up. I caught myself with my hands as heavy sobs broke from my throat. It was embarrassing but I couldn't stop. I didn’t think it would ever stop.

But he was wrong. I didn’t miss my life I missed them. I wanted to say sorry I wanted to say goodbye but I had blown my chance because I had been scared and now they were gone and I would never see them again and I was alone with a bunch of demons who would probably throw me away for being so weak.

I felt a hand on my back, steady and reassuring, and knew it was Deralyct. I didn’t know why he didn’t just walk away but I was glad he stayed and I knew that there was no one else I would rather have with me at this moment as I fell apart after so long holding myself together.

I hated this. I hated how I felt and how I couldn’t seem to come to terms with my choices. I was the one who left. I was the one who sent them away. I'm the one who had wanted a new life so bad I had forgotten the thing that had made my old life worth living and now it was too late. I had no right to feel sad but here I was sobbing uncontrollably on the floor. It was completely irrational but it didn't matter, I wasn't acting logically I was giving up completely.

I don’t know how long I stayed on the floor but by the time I was able to stand it was nearly dark. Deralyct had stayed with me the entire time kneeling beside me. He never said a word, just kept me grounded with a single hand on my back, and after I stood he didn’t say anything. I stood numbly, drained of all feeling, and he walked away and came back with a cloth. I recognized it as a dish cloth from the kitchen but took it anyway and cleaned my face as best I could.

Deralyct took it back and cleaned me off a little more but I was too tired to appreciate the gesture. He didn’t offer me any help as we left the house but I noticed he kept close to me and his tail turned around me, not quite touching me but there if I needed it. He grew to his normal size as we walked back to the guards who were, surprisingly, still waiting where we had left them.

Back at the palace Allura and Slera were waiting for us but Deralyct waved them off before they could get far. Allura gave me a look and I thought I saw concern cross her face before it settled onto a seductive mask. Slera didn’t acknowledge my presence at all and I was doubly glad to leave her behind before that changed. Allura ‘s tail touched my hand as we passed and I caught her eyes again. The question they asked was obvious. Are you ok? But I was too tired to answer and I turned away.

When we got to our rooms I didn’t wait to be dismissed before I went into my room. I stood behind the empty doorway for a few moments before I relaxed, marginally. I looked at the bed and fell into a boneless heap on it but as tired as I was I couldn’t sleep. Hours later I finally managed to fall asleep and thanked whatever god that might be listening to my prayers that it was dreamless.

Deralyct looked into the fire. The night had fallen and the moon peeked into his room from the window. He was thinking about the deal. He had made it from curiosity, and maybe a little amusement, to discover what would cause a fighter to give up so completely and give up everything. The family was certainly a part of the equation but there was something else and Deralyct had pushed blindly to discover what it was.

But if it elicited a reaction like that from the human then it was best if Deralyct didn’t pry. He turned away from the fire and walked to the door separating his rooms from Jon’s. His sense passed the doorway and into the room and he checked on the human and the demon lord relaxed in relief. The boy was finally asleep although it was a restless, dreamless, sleep.

In the short time they had known each other the human had experienced so many soul wrenching moments. Experiencing even one of them was enough to break lesser men but even combined Jon had seemed to weather them with seemingly little need for reassurance or support. That strength had cause Deralyct to keep pushing without thinking about the cost. But the strength of this latest episode told a different story. Jon wasn’t coping well at all. So strong were the feelings inside him that, when they had finally shown themselves, he had caused Deralyct to fear for him.

Deralyct touched his chest. Fear. It had been so long since he had last felt it and even then it had been in the face of overwhelming power and he had been young and inexperienced. He never thought he would have to face that emotion again and yet now he was, fearing for the life of a human that had somehow managed to become someone he cared about.

Deralyct entered the room quietly and shut the door so the light in the fireplace didn’t disturb the already disturbed sleep of the human. He stalked to the bed with a silence that belied his size and looked down at Jon.

He looked at the thing in his hand. He had been holding onto it for a while now and this was his chance. Carefully he put it down on Jon’s desk before inspecting it, the photo from the table, he had grabbed it at the last second when he had grabbed the cloth for Jon to wash his face. He hoped seeing it wouldn’t cause another episode but having it here would be good for Jon, even if it hurt at first.

The four pairs of eyes stared at him but he didn’t feel ashamed under their gaze anymore. He looked at the human, so small in his bed, and sat down next to him carefully. He reached out and touched the humans chest and let his hand rest there for a moment. The small body felt cold at first but quickly warmed under his touch and he concentrated a little more until he could feel, quiet but very much there, a heartbeat. During the episode the humans heart had beat recklessly and made Deralyct wonder if human hearts could explode in their chest but now it beat with reassuring quiet tenacity.

The human took a breath and turned over and before Deralyct could remove his hand it was trapped inside the humans arms. Deralyct stilled, waiting to see if Jon had awakened, but sighed when the human stayed asleep. Deralyct let his hand sit there for a few moments, feeling the warmth of the human, before carefully extracting it. The human murmured but stayed quiet as Deralyct left the room.

Deralyct could only blame himself for Jon’s pain. If he had been less careless the episode never would have happened but in his attempts to stay distant he had stepped on nerves that Jon hadn't been able to handle. He hadn’t even known Jon existed before the invasion but now he could only see the invasion through that lens. From the demon who had almost killed Jon that Deralyct hadn’t stopped, the deal, marking his family, forcing him to pacify his own people...Deralyct was the center of Jon’s pain.

Another emotion Deralyct wasn’t accustomed too. Guilt. He had pushed to hard and ignored the signs that the human was past his limits. It amazed Deralyct that the human had managed as long as he had before he had broken down. Deralyct would have to be careful from now on. If Jon was so good at hiding or ignoring his emotions then he had to be held back until Deralyct could be sure he could handle any other difficult positions. There had to be a way to give Jon time to recover without drawing the ire, or curiosity, of Slera and Allura. Deralyct didn't think either general could be allowed near Jon in his current state. Slera would definitely make it worse and Allura...she always discarded toys that broke.

Deralyct sighed and walked to his table, grabbing a clean paper and pen, there was a way to help take the pressure off Jon until he had recovered but it was important that the right person be chosen. So many would jump to the task but he didn’t have the time to personally meet and interview them all.

The order was finished quickly and he called for a courier and handed it off to be given to the slave master. She would be the best one to find a suitable candidate and was smart enough to not ask questions. Deralyct walked to his new bed and sat down with a sigh enjoying the comfort for a moment. He was tired, the events of the day had taken a toll on him as well. He looked up at the desk and the papers littering its surface. they couldn't be put off any longer, especially since he had returned to the palace hours later than expected.

He stood again picked up a report. This one featured the usage of the surrounding nation’s currency. A necessary thing to learn but not one he particularly enjoyed and he looked down at the rest of the fifty pages in the information packet. Slera was nothing if not thorough.

He started reading after taking a deep breath. There was no rest for the wicked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof. That was quite a chapter to write and I hope you all enjoyed it! Now who's ready for a new guy to start gumming things up now that they have barely gotten started? well to bad because thats whats next.


	9. Questions without Answers.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are different now between Jon and Deralyct. Jon has to contend with these changes in Deralyct's behavior as well as the new slave, Avery, that Deralyct acquired to help him. The changes aren't all bad however and the two are closer than ever before except neither of them want to admit it.

“Eating too much is just as bad for me as not eating enough.” I said, pushing the leftover food on my plate around in circles. Deralyct had moved a table and chairs into his room to enable his latest fascination with making sure I ate everything I was presented with. He sat across the table while reading through a thick red book he had moved from his desk.

“You need to eat more.” He said without looking up at me, “You haven’t been taking care of yourself.” I bristled and opened my mouth to deny it but before I could get a word out he fixed me with a look and raised an eyebrow. “Eat Jon.” He ordered before returning his attention to reading.

Deralyct had changed once again. A week had passed since I broke down and I was beginning to pull myself back together but that didn’t stop me from noticing the way Deralyct acted around me. He hadn’t allowed me to leave my room and hadn't left my side for more than a couple hours until yesterday and I was aching for any sign that things would begin to go back to normal. I didn't like feeling helpless and having a ten foot demon force me to do basic tasks was about as helpless as I could get.

We even ate together, I hadn’t even known he ate food, and he would sit and wait until I had finished the entire plate before sending me back to my room to rest. I had been too drained to protest until today and I was able to put forth at least a little resistance. I could tell his actions were based off good intentions but regardless of my breakdown he had to know I was capable of taking care of myself.

Not that it helped. At least he was going to let me resume my duties outside of the room today though I could feel like he was wavering in that decision.

I resisted the urge to pout and morosely shoved another bite into my mouth. At least it tasted good. I decided to let him have this battle, mostly because he was right, I hadn’t been eating very much lately, and as much as I wanted to blame him for keeping me too busy to eat I knew that meals had always been provided for me since we made our deal. I just… didn't always have an appetite for them. Something about pacifying people and branding my family made me forget to eat. That didn’t stop me from feeling embarrassed when he ordered me to clean my plate though. I finished my food and stood from the table and glared at the Demon King.

“Happy now?” I asked sarcastically. I wasn’t a child. I didn't care if he owned me I was capable of eating until I was full without him watching me. He looked up at my plate before nodding in approval and standing, putting the book on the table.

“Gather your clothes and meet me in the shower.” The other major change in our routine. Having him watch me clean my plate was embarrassing but now he forced me to shower with him...but I wasn’t going to fight him as hard on that point. I felt my face go red and bowed, turning away quickly, I really hoped that he would think the color on my cheeks was just embarrassment.

Despite how worn out I still felt after my breakdown my crush for the Demon King had stubbornly managed to resist the emotional purge and I didn’t have a good argument to deter it anymore. It was hard to claim he didn’t care about me at all when he was forcing me to take care of myself, although he was being a to little hands on about it for my comfort. I just didn’t understand why he was so interested in keeping me healthy and what was worse is that he seemed to be immune to the embarrassment and awkwardness I felt about the situation.

In my room I gave myself a couple minutes to calm down. Deralyct had somehow found a pair of swimming trunks for me to use and stood by to make sure I was keeping myself clean. I changed into the trunks and went through my own, now unused, shower and into his. The pool was already filling with water that fell from the ceiling like rain. Deralyct was already standing in the pools deepest level when I entered the shower and I took the opportunity while his back was turned to appreciate the way the water rolled down his back and wings. He lacked a pair of trunks but wore instead a thick cloth wrapped around his waist tightly to keep himself decent while we showered although it ran underneath his tail in a very appealing manner...

He started to turn and I quickly moved to stay out of his immediate vision. The pool had three levels that I had deemed, unofficially, the kiddy pool, the bath, and drowning. The kiddy pool only held water up to my knees, the bath just past my navel, and the drowning level was deep enough for the water to go over my head. Each level was big enough to allow both me and Deralyct to bathe with plenty of space between us, something we both took advantage of. He may be standing by to make sure I took care of myself but he made sure to give me my space.

I waded through the kiddy pool and hopped into the bath level, each level dropped like a cliff rather than a slope, and grabbed a cloth from the small pile beside the pool. I could feel Deralyct glance at me before he turned his back with massive cloth in hand to scrub himself. The hot rain that fell into the pool and our eyes made it difficult to maintain eye contact with anything when inside the shower but he made sure to keep an eye on me so he could comment or intervene if I wasn’t doing a good enough job. Despite my feelings I could understand why he was doing things this way.

The first couple days after my breakdown I had been useless and dead to the world. If it wasn't for Deralyct's near constant attention I would still be lying in bed trying to pull myself together. As grateful as I might be, now that I was feeling better, I really wished he would begin to let me have my own full autonomy again.

I refused to look at him and focused on imagining that I was alone in the bath as I started to wash myself. I scrubbed at my skin and let the rough but soft fabric of the cloth in my hand distract me from Deralyct’s proximity. I was so busy trying to keep those thoughts under control that others rose to the surface.

My scrubbing slowed to a stop as the bath pulled an old memory from my mind and I hung my head hung low standing motionless as the water ran over me. I remembered once when Brandon was younger he had made a beard in the bath from bubbles. When Alyssa and me had shown him what he looked like he was so shocked we hadn’t stopped laughing until dad came to investigate. A thin dagger wrenched in my chest and I winced at the pain.

I felt more than heard Deralyct turn but I didn’t respond until I felt a light touch on my shoulder and turned my head to look at him. His eyes were passive but I could read the question in them, asking if I was ok. I sighed, this was why he was doing this. Just in case I got blindsided and started to slip back.

I nodded at him in reassurance and returned to scrubbing myself. I had to admit it was nice to have him nearby if I needed him. After a few moments his hand left my shoulder and we returned to ignoring each other. That was the biggest change between us honestly. There was something unspoken between us now that let us gauge each others needs without asking and it was honestly the most terrifying part of the changes between us.

A few minutes later the water stopped falling and we started to dry off as the water left the pool through grates on the floor. I promised myself that someday I would understand how this shower worked and I glanced at Deralyct as I dried my head.

He worked quickly to dry himself and I wondered why he bothered with the towel as his natural body heat seemed to remove excess water through evaporation just as fast as he could with a towel. He reached his hands over his head to dry his back and I noticed his movements were blocked by his wings.  
I wouldn’t say he was having trouble but even as dexterous as he seemed to be his wings prevented him from fully drying off his back and the space between them remained wet despite his best efforts. I paused and looked at the half dry towel in my hands and then at the Demon King who had moved close to the edge between the drowning and bath levels. Maybe this was my chance to start paying him back for helping me.

I bit my lip and walked to the edge of the bath level and leaned forward. Deralyct was standing only a few feet away and if he noticed my approach he didn’t respond to it. I raised my hand and placed it on his back to stabilize myself. He froze and looked over his shoulder at me with wide eyes as I dried that unreachable space with my towel. His skin reminded me of a sun warmed rock but it felt smooth underneath my hands and after a few moments he relaxed and focused on drying his chest and I felt the hard muscle underneath his skin move as he did.

This close I could feel his body heat radiate outward and I took a breath through my nose and closed my eyes. Metal and fire. The smell was familiar after knowing Deralyct for so long but over the past week it had become a comfort for me and helped me forget my painful memories. I banished my painful memories and instead I focused on remembering how I had woken up at night the day of my breakdown feeling this same heat and smell on my bed even though Deralyct wasn’t anywhere to be found. It had calmed me enough to put me back to sleep. Maybe it wasn't so bad that he wanted to keep me close.

It was over in a couple minutes and I pulled myself away and began to climb out of the pool. He didn’t say anything as he followed me out and we went into our respective rooms without looking at each other. Safe in my bathroom I peeled off my trunks and dried myself fully with a new towel and tried to quiet my pounding heart. Something had definitely changed between us. The me of a week ago wouldn’t risk touching Deralyct without his permission even with both of us fully clothed and I didn’t think the Deralyct of a week ago would have let me even if I had tried.

I gave myself a chance to calm down by changing into my uniform slowly and took a deep breath to center myself. A few minutes of standing and deep breathing later I decided I had calmed enough to face him again and I opened the door between our rooms to find Avery working to help Deralyct into his armor.

Avery...yet another change although thankfully a short lived one. He was Deralyct’s interim servant while I was incapacitated and I could feel him sizing me up from the moment I walked into the room. Already he was helping Deralyct, who was sitting patiently, into his armor and I did my best to ignore a twinge of jealousy. He looked back at me as he strapped on a bracer and smiled smugly. Deralyct was too busy reading through a report to see and I wondered if Deralyct would mind if I smacked the teeth from Avery’s face.

Avery was only a little taller than me but liked to stand straight to make the most of it when we spoke. He filled out his uniform and even under the layers it was clear he took care of himself and had enjoyed tanning before the invasion. He turned to me and bowed, dramatically low, to me and sweeping his arm out mockingly. The move failed to annoy me and it almost made me laugh at how ridiculous he looked.

“Jon,” he said as he stood straight again, “I have completed helping our Lord into his armor while we waited. Is that alright with you?” he said smiling like he had won a prize. This was my main problem with Avery. Competitive spirit. It hung so heavily around him that if it was a cologne he would be dumping an entire bottle on himself every morning.

He arrived at our chambers early in order to receive his orders before me. He called out any flaw he perceived when I worked. He smiled and bowed low enough to scrape his nose on the floor whenever Deralyct talked to him. He volunteered for tasks I hadn’t had a chance to complete yet...if they got him close to Deralyct. Deralyct had called him to help me until I was back to one hundred percent but I hated working around his childishness and couldn't wait until Deralyct sent him away.

“Of course. Unless you did it wrong.” I said, not looking at him, and approached the pair. I had never been competitive and I wasn’t going to waste time or energy by starting now. Avery’s smile fell slightly and his eyes narrowed at me which made the corner of my mouth twitch up.

I wasn’t competitive but I did love annoying people. I pushed past him and inspected his work. I made a point of redoing a few of the straps and threw a smile of my own at Avery, who was now openly glowering. When I was done I stepped back and Deralyct stood. He hadn’t said anything during our exchange but he looked between us before his eyes settled on me.

“Have the slave help you run these messages. Then perform your usual duties.” Deralyct said to me, handing me a small stack of letters and scrolls from his desk. I gathered the paper in my arms carefully and bowed to him. With Avery around both of us tried our best to not act too familiar but I could tell Deralyct was still unsure about me going about my day alone. He didn't have anything to worry about. I knew to come back here if I started to get overwhelmed.

“Yes my Lord.” I said. Avery mimicked me as Deralyct left the room. Deralyct’s tail brushed against my leg as he passed and I could see Avery’s eyes watch the contact. I didn’t react to the contact openly but I felt a warmth blossom in my chest and I began to sort the pile of papers in my arms. As soon as Deralyct was out of the room Avery’s demeanor changed. He stood up straight and stepped up to me forcing me to take a step back or be pushed over and sneered at me.

“I’m taking the ones labeled for the generals.” He said grabbing at the pile. I hit his hands away and glared at him as I walked to the table and put them down before dividing them into two neat piles. He always tried to establish dominance when Deralyct left us alone.

“You are here to help me.” I reminded him and I pushing a pile in his direction. I let him take the messages labeled for Slera. I didn’t really want to talk to her in my current state, or any state really. “I decide the division of labor.” He had become increasingly hostile since I had begun to take on more and more of my former chores and I was getting tired of reminding him he was only temporary.

“For a week I’ve done almost everything.” He said, grabbing at a scroll in the pile I had set for myself, “As far as I’m concerned you’re here to help me.” I grabbed his arm. He really didn’t understand and I was getting tired of explaining it to him.

I twisted his arm back at an angle and pushed it towards his chest. He gasped and fell to his knees, his other hand pulled at my grip on him weakly. It was painful but it wouldn’t really hurt him and I needed him to pay attention. I adopted the face I used when I had to order demons around and watched it take the desired effect on the already scared man.

“Listen to me.” I said, soft and slow, “I don’t know what idiot idea you have in your head that you belong here but it needs to end now. You are temporary. You aren’t valuable. In a couple of days I will resume my duties in full and then you will be sent back to whatever hole Deralyct grabbed you from. You aren't a replacement. Am I clear?” I pushed his arm one final time and let him go so he fell onto his back. He stared up at me in fear and I felt a smile cross my lips. It was wide but shallow with just enough teeth to show their edges but it didn't quite reach my eyes which were half lidded in amusement.

It felt like one of Allura’s. The smile she wore when she wanted someone to see just how little they mattered and what she was prepared to do to them. I grabbed my pile and headed out the door, leaving the shocked and afraid Avery on the floor, and the smile widened into something more genuine. More me. Maybe they weren’t the best lessons but I was learning from my time with demons and, if I was being honest, it felt good to be in a world where I could use what I learned.

Allura’s reaction to me walking into her room was...unexpected. The demoness cried out and laughed before she pulled me in a tight hug that made me drop my papers. I stood as still as I could and the incubus she had been previously talking too shared a ‘what the fuck’ expression with me before she pulled back and I smiled weakly at her.

“Your up and alive at last.” she said breathlessly. She frowned and turned to the incubus, who was still standing very confused behind her, with a frown. “What are you still doing here?” she asked shooing him towards the door. “Wait outside until i'm done discussing important matters with our Lord's servant.” The incubus bowed and left quickly. She stared at him until the door closed before grabbing my face and moving my head around as she inspected me.

“The last time I saw you. You looked absolutely drained of life.” she said, pouting, “I felt a little jealous.” I ignored her innuendo and gently removed her grip on my face.

“I was feeling ill but I’ve recovered enough to continue my duties General Allura.” She rolled her eyes with a sighed and stood back with a hand on her hip.

“I think we have passed using such boorish titles. At least when we are in private.” She sat down and gestured for me to sit and I did on a surprisingly lavish chair. As the succubus had jumped on me the moment I entered I hadn’t had a chance to take stock of her room. It was covered in silks and pillows. All the furniture was built large enough for two or more people to sit comfortably together and a small silver wrought table held a jeweled decanter and a pair of goblets.

She followed my gaze and grabbed the decanter and a glass pouring a deep red liquid and offering it to me.

“I won’t tell anyone if you drink.” she said, winking slyly, “Though Deralyct might notice the taste on your lips.” I tensed up and my entire face went hot. She laughed and took the glass back, taking a sip leisurely from her own seat.

“What do you mean by that?” I choked out trying to buy time for my brain to recover from the massive rush of blood that had stunned it. I suddenly didn’t know what to do with my hands and settled for clasping them awkwardly on my lap. Allura chuckled and took another sip. Sloshing the liquid in her mouth for a moment before swallowing and speaking.

“I can smell him on you.” she said looking at me from above the rim of her glass, “It is faint but very much there. One can only draw so many conclusions from it.” The succubus always enjoyed teasing me but this still managed to take me off guard. Maybe because she knew I had a crush. I wouldn't put it past the succubus to know about that and I tried, and failed, to regain my composure.

“I’ve been spending a lot of time with him,” The succubus smirked and stifled a laugh with another sip and I rolled my eyes at her before continuing, “Not in any way you’re thinking I just mean-” Allura stood and sat beside me, her body flush against mine, and my words died on my lips. She turned to put the glass back on the table before turning her attention to me fully. Her magenta crimson eyes burning with amusement.

“We both know that things haven’t been the same between you.” she said, she grabbed my hand, the one I had touched Deralyct’s back with that morning, and raised it to her face. The demoness sniffed it daintily and looked at me slyly from over the fingers. “This hand smells like him and-” she sniffed again, “water...soap, a bath?” I pulled my hand away hastily.

“Maybe some things are different.” I said quietly, refusing to look at the victorious succubus. She laughed so hard I could feel it through our body contact and nudged me playfully. The motion made me smile as well and I felt my embarrassment melt away a little as she expressed her excitement.

“Some things?” she said after she quieted down, “Everything is different. Did you know he refused to let anyone into his chambers this past week, not even me or Slera, except that new slave boy.” Her face scrunched in disgust and I felt better knowing I wasn’t the only one who disliked Avery. I hadn’t known, I mean, I hadn't seen anyone but I thought that was because Deralyct's chambers were off limits. He had been ordering people away while I was weak?

“The past week he has ignored any task that would require him to leave the palace and has postponed any invasion plans that would keep him from his chambers for more than a few hours at a time and it's all because of you.” she punctuated the last word by tapping me on the nose. He had been attentive over the past week but I hadn’t thought he was actually changing his plans around me. I looked away, Allura must have seen the guilt on my face and sighed.

“It’s nothing to be ashamed about.” she said, lifting my face to look back at her, “Our Lord often allows his emotions to rule his actions. No matter how hard he tries not to.” She looked out the window and her eyes glazed over, “It’s been so long since he has had someone to care about. When I helped you I never thought you would get this close to him.” she looked at me again and smiled, “I’m glad he has you.” Her smile looked different from her usual ones. This one was soft and reached her eyes and lit them and for a moment she was more beautiful than I had ever seen her before.

“Nothings going on between us.” I said standing and walking towards the window I was quiet for a moment and I watched the world outside her window. “A lot happened last week.” I admitted quietly, “and it changed a lot between us in ways I don’t understand but it isn’t anything....” I said, the last word was basically a whisper and I looked down at the floor.

I couldn’t explain his behavior but it wasn’t anything like Allura was saying. It couldn’t be. No matter how much I might want something like that he had never expressed any interest in me in that way and I was worried I was still too raw to get my hopes up about something like that. A Demon King and his slave... An arm fell across my shoulder and Allura pulled me into a sideways hug.

“You have a connection now.” she said in my ear quietly, “You are both changing each other. Whatever it is, I’m glad you decided to make that deal. For his sake.” She pulled back and behind me I could hear her pour another glass.

I turned and she handed it to me. She tapped her own glass against it and the clinking sound banished a little of my sadness. I looked at the dark liquid before I raised my glass with her and took a drink.

The wine coated my tongue and the heavy flavor saturated my mouth until I swallowed it with a small cough. The next sip went down easier until Allura spoke again, her voice brazen and mischievous.

"Now about those baths..."

I handed off her messages a little while later before leaving her room. The succubus had kissed my cheek in goodbye and the feeling flowed through my body along with the wine, leaving me feeling limber and much more relaxed than I had been in a long time. The kiss along with the wine and the conversation had put me in a better mood and I smiled the whole time I was delivered the last of the messages.

Later that evening I returned to Deralyct’s chambers still in high spirits and felt even better when, after searching the rooms, I realized Avery wasn’t there. I was busy organizing the desk when Deralyct came in and I greeted him with a smile.

“What has you in such a good mood?” He asked walking past me to the fireplace. With a wave of his hand fire erupted from the freshly stocked wood and filled the room with warmth. I walked to his side as he sat down and I began to help him remove his armor. Slowly his armor came off and as I returned all the smaller pieces to the rack I could feel his eyes follow me.

“I had a talk with Allura when I was delivering your messages.” I said, one of the clasps was making itself difficult so I wasn’t looking up at him as I worked like I normally would and it felt nice to have an excuse to stand close to him. “It was nice to get out of the room now that I’m feeling better and she was glad to see me so we talked for a while.” He hummed and then he leaned forward in his chair. I looked up in surprise as his head came close to my own, his eyes narrowed, as he came closer and I looked into them and was about to ask him what was wrong when he sniffed.

“Vrejik wine.” He said after a few moments before leaning back. “Should I ask how much you had?” I felt my face turn red in embarrassment and I looked away and stubbornly tried to get the clasp to come free.

“It was only one glass.” I said hotly in my defense, “Allura drank most of it.” I glanced up at him.

“You didn’t save any for me?” He asked, glaring, as his crown of fire flared.

We looked at each other for a few moments before he laughed. It was a deep, full throated laugh that filled the room and shook through me. My mouth fell open in shock before a smile cracked my face and I was laughing too. I had to abandon my task for a moment as I was laughing too hard to focus. The atmosphere of the room changed as our laughter died down and I looked up at Deralyct’s smiling face. Allura’s voice whispered in my mind.

“You’re both changing each other.” it said, “I’m glad he has you.”

This had been the first time I had heard him really laugh. He had even made a joke! I began to wonder if maybe Allura was right about me changing him as much as he was changing me. He had leaned back in the chair and was now looking at me with a soft smile. The firelight glanced off his jaw handsomely and his skin reflected the light giving him a hellish glow and my eyes danced across the way it accentuated his face. I smiled back and my eyes wandered to his lips.

The skin of his face looked as hard as stone, unyielding and rough, but I couldn’t help but wonder what they felt like. I bit my lip and I watched his eyes twitch down my face to catch the movement watching in fascination at the softer, more forgiving, nature of my mouth. Neither of us moved for a moment before Deralyct shifted and began to lean do-

The door opened and both of us jumped. Deralyct managed to recapture his composure immediately, sitting back with a bored expression, while I still fumbled to look like I was doing my job despite my racing heart and beet red face. I was suddenly very jealous that Deralyct was incapable of blushing and I scowled as the clasp finally came undone. Life wasn't fair.

“You food has arrived my Lord.” Avery said behind me and my mood fell a few notches as I turned to watch him enter. Of course he would bring our food, he had probably volunteered out of hope that Deralyct was alone. I wondered if he had planned things to enter when he did but rolled my eyes internally at my frustrated paranoia. That would be giving him too much credit. He was holding up a golden tray, badly my inner restaurant worker thought critically, with two plates and silverware. One set monstrous in size and obviously meant for Deralyct and a smaller one for me.

The light from the fire made his normally green eyes look demonic and I felt a sliver of unease in the way he was looking at me. Maybe I had gone to far that morning. Deralyct wound his tail around on the floor so it lay between us and I relaxed. Deralyct was on my side so Avery had no chance of getting even. Avery’s eyes glanced down at the tail as he set the table. The food made me realize how hungry I actually was and I turned away from him to help finish off the armor so I could eat faster. Deralyct stood and knelt down and turned around so I could work on the complex portions around his wings and Avery took the opportunity to flash me a glare.

“Do you need me for anything else my Lord?” Avery asked Deralyct. His tone was neutral but his eyes were anything but as they glared at me. I rolled my eyes and turned my attention back to removing the armor and ignored him as much as I could. Honestly I hoped that Deralyct would send him away soon so I could go back to having a good time.

“No that will be all slave.” Deralyct said, not even turning around. Avery’s nostrils flared and for a moment I thought he was going to say something else than he let out a deep breath and stalked from the room. As soon as Deralyct’s armor was off and put away we sat down to eat. Deralyct took a bite and frowned.

“Is something wrong?” I asked. He shook his head and took another bite.

“It’s colder than it should be.” He said, “It’s nothing to worry about.” He looked at me across the table before glancing at my plate, still untouched. I rolled my eyes and made a show of stuffing a big bite in my mouth. I couldn’t talk with my mouth so full so I gave him my best, “Are you happy now?” look as I chewed. A small smile lit across his lips as he took another bite and let me eat at my own pace.

“Good night, Deralyct” I said and closed the door to my room behind me. After I was dismissed for the night I stayed awake in my room, lying on my bed, thinking about everything that had happened that day. I still didn't know what to think about what had happened between me and Deralyct or the broader changes that had developed over the past week and I wondered if maybe it was best to just let it happen and hope for the best. The moon was shining in my window allowing me to see the photo on my desk. The photo Deralyct had saved for me.

At first I hadn’t been able to even look at the photo and I had debated destroying it or at least putting it away where the smiling faces couldn’t mock me anymore. But as the week had passed the photo had become something of a comfort, a reminder, that even though it hurt to think about them, we still loved each other. I was glad Deralyct had taken this with us and my heart swelled a bit as I looked at it.

I turned away from the photo and thought about what Deralyct was going to do before Avery interrupted us and I covered my eyes with a smile as the more provocative portions of my mind supplied ample answers. It couldn’t have been anything like that. We had just been laughing and then…

Then the air had changed. I had never experienced anything like that before and my heart and mind were still struggling to understand it. I gave up after a few minutes. Maybe it wasn’t something to be understood, just felt. I closed my eyes and let myself fall asleep. Thoughts of what might have happened buoying my dreams.

Deralyct was watching the moon from the courtyard. After dinner he had decided a walk would help clear his head. He hadn’t made it far but the cool outside air was already helping him clear his head and he took a deep breath and let it out with a sigh. He was growing more attached to Jon.

When had Jon latched onto him? When they met he had been a curiosity. When they had marked his family he had come alive but Deralyct hadn’t been able to feel much pity for him at the time. Had it been Grathel? No. The lieutenant hadn’t meant enough to either of them to cement their relationship. It hadn’t been last week either. That event had merely proven to Deralyct that at some point Jon had managed to become someone worth more to Deralyct than a possession or object and that he couldn't step away from the human and retain a clear conscience.

It was a new mystery and Jon seemed to have thousand for Deralyct to unravel. Another mystery was what exactly Deralyct had been planning to do in that room with him. He had made a joke. It had been a long time since Deralyct had felt comfortable enough around anyone to relax and make a joke and then...then they had been staring at each other.

Jon had looked so soft in the firelight. The angle had been perfect so the light glanced off his eyes like gold. Then Jon's eyes had traveled down and had looked at his lips and then the lip bite… Deralyct didn’t know what came over him in that moment but that had spurred him to action and he had started to lean forward. Then the new slave, the temporary one, had interrupted them. It had been frustrating but also welcome. Deralyct wasn’t sure what had been about to happen and he didn’t like having so little control. No matter how...pleasant something might have felt as it happened.

“You're up late, My Lord.” Deralyct turned as Allura rose from her bow behind him. He must have been very deep in thought for her to sneak up on him but as he reached out with his arcane sense he discovered she was dampening her aura on purpose. The succubus wore he normal "armor" and Deralyct wondered if she wore it for the attention or because she actually enjoyed baring her body to anyone watching. As long as it didn't cause problems elsewhere she could wear whatever she wished he finally decided.

“Not much could have you hiding Allura.” He replied in greeting, “Are you simply hoping to enjoy the night without anyone bothering you or have you managed to enrage Slera again.” The succubus laughed and came to stand next to him with a willingness that few could master. The millennium had taught Allura she had little to fear from Deralyct as long as she stayed in his good graces.

“Can it not be both?” she asked with a smirk. The comment pulled a light chuckle from Deralyct. One day the succubus would discover the fallen celestial was just as cunning as she was but Deralyct doubted she would learn her lesson. The succubus teased everyone endlessly and no one was exempt from her prying questions and sly glances.

“You and your games.” He sighed. A thought tugged at his mind and he said, “About your games...” The succubus looked at him attentively, eyebrow piqued in curiosity.

“You have a question My Lord? What answer can I provide you?” He allowed her much free will but she knew better than to play coy when he asked her a direct question. Her intelligence was one of her best qualities as a general.

“What game were you playing when you sent Jon to me?” He asked, he caught the look of surprise on her face before she answered. Her wings fanned herself despite the cool night air and Deralyct caught her scent, and the faint scent of one of her favorite incubi, and sighed in exasperation.

“I wanted to see what you would do.” She said, “You’ve always loved soft things-” Deralyct growled low in his throat and she bowed low. “No insult is meant My Lord but it is true. Also I knew you would be intrigued by his deal. It was a strange one was it not? Giving himself up for his family. It’s the kind of thing a saint might do but the sin on him was too heavy for it to be purely altruistic.” She paused for a moment, “Have you discovered why he made it? I’ve been puzzling through it but I can’t seem to find the answer.”

“It would be best if you stopped.” Deralyct said, Allura would surely keep prying until she discovered the answers she wanted but Deralyct wasn't willing to risk Jon undergoing another attack while he was still recovering from the last one, “Jon is still in a fragile state and it was, in part, my search for that very answer that led to him falling ill this past week.” Allura nodded and regarded the moon.

“As you wish my Lord.” The two demon lords stood in silence after that watching the world around them. The succubus had seemed to take a liking to Jon and Deralyct was glad he could count on her to keep him safe. Whatever her looks she was the third greatest fighter and one of the most devious and vengeful minds in his army and anyone who crossed her or anyone she cared about would receive little pity.

“Will the invasion be moving forward then?” Allura asked, “You postponed many facets but they are ready whenever you give the order.” Deralyct shook his head. Jon was still too weak and he was an integral part of Deralyct's plan. It wasn't possible to completely remove him from future events without having him leave Deralyct's side and Deralyct felt a sliver of pain in his chest at the idea of sending Jon away.

“Not yet. It will be another few days before I am ready to proceed.” he said finally. He had been quiet to long and the general looked at him as if she could read his thoughts.

“Before you are ready or Jon?” Deralyct looked down with a glare at the succubus who was smiling up at him, “Are you surprised? It is my job to read the connections between people and the connection between you is especially strong.” Deralyct scoffed and his tail lashed behind him.

“Perhaps your skills are starting to fail you.” He said looking back up at the moon to avoid her searching gaze, “Whatever connection exists between us is one of camaraderie not romance.” Allura sighed and with a few beats of her wings she hovered enough off the ground to force the Demon King to look her in the eye. He met her gaze evenly and she glanced down to show submission before meeting his eyes again.

“Jon said much the same thing when I spoke with him earlier today.” She said. There was no reason to insinuate that things were growing heated between him and Jon. It wasn't like Jon had shown any sign that he wanted anything more between them. But then there was that moment when he had been drying off and Jon had helped him. His hands had been so soft and gentle... No. Those thoughts had no place in his mind.

“When you got him drunk.” Deralyct deflected with an accusing glaring at Allura, the succubus smiled and shrugged. Allura wasn't one to hide her misdeeds and Deralyct doubted she felt any guilt for tricking Jon to drink something as alcoholic as Vrejik wine. At least she hadn't meant any harm.

“It was just one glass. I doubt it was still be affecting him by the time you two met again.” Allura winked at Deralyct. “That is why you are out here thinking is it not? Something happened.” Deralyct raised scowled at the prying comment and Allura looked away but her smile remained intact. Still she insisted on pushing the idea that he and Jon had feelings for each other.

“Nothing happened between us.”

“Not physically.” the succubus said slyly before dipping close and moving back quickly in her flight, “I would smell it if you did.” Deralyct rolled his eyes and growled and Allura laughed. Allura was enjoying this for too much. Deralyct motioned for her to be silent and waited, their unwanted guest was finally ready to approach them.

“E-excuse me?” a voice said weakly behind them. They both turned to look at Avery. He had been creeping forward steadily as they had talked, obviously trying to listen in but they had kept their voices low enough so he couldn’t understand, and Deralyct wondered whether he should kill him for even trying. He was no longer needed after all. Jon seemed strong enough already to resume his full duties, though Deralyct would prefer to keep the slave around a couple days to be sure, and the two didn’t get along.

Still the slave was harmless so Deralyct decided to wait.

“Speak slave.” Allura said. She had adopted Slera’s voice patterns and tone, Deralyct noted, which meant she didn’t believe this man was worth listening to or even toying with. A damning judgment from the succubus who treated everyone like a game. Deralyct decided to keep her instincts in mind as he decided the final fate of the slave before him.

“My Lord, and Lady,” Avery said, bowing low enough Deralyct was surprised he didn’t come back up eating dirt, “I have a simple question…an offer.” an offer? Mildly interesting but his hesitation to actually make his point was beginning to get on Deralyct’s nerves and he growled a warning. The human yelped lightly and spoke faster.

“I was wondering if it would be possible to keep my current position.” He said. His eyes were unable to maintain eye contact with either demon and finally settling on the ground, “I know I was only meant to stay here temporarily but I think I will be the best use to you at your side.” Deralyct raised an eye ridge.

“I have no need for two personal servants.” Deralyct said, beginning to turn away, “As such I have no need for you.”

“Exactly,” The slave said, growing louder and more sure now that the two demons were listening to him, “I believe I should replace your current servant.” Deralyct’s wings rose fast enough to knock the slave on his feet and his crown of fire burst from his head and a growl erupted from his mouth with enough strength to shake the ground.

Allura reacted much the same way. Her horns grew and she fell to the earth hard enough to leave an indentation in the ground as flaming demonic claws grew over her manicured nails and she snarled with large serrated teeth. Avery held up a hand in a pitiful defense as the heat coming off the enraged demons scorched the hair off his arm. The acrid scent of burned hair filled the air and the slave pushed himself back a few paces to escape the heat.

“I work faster! I work harder! Jon has been useless this past week. I am the clearly superior choice.” He cried out shrilly in his defense as Allura stepped forward and kicked him down putting a heel on his throat. The succubus rolled her eyes as the slaves eyes followed the curve of her leg despite his situation.

“That is not for you to decide.” She said pressing down on his throat enough to cut off his voice, “If I remember correctly you only made your deal after Jon made it clear it was possible. Without him you would be rotting with all the rest of your kind. You dare insult him without realizing his true worth?” The demoness raised a claw and the flames grew in power as she prepared to rip open the helpless man under her heel.

“Enough.” Deralyct said, Allura looked back at him before nodding lowering her claw and removing her foot, but not before shoving the slaves head into the dirt. The slave got up slowly rubbing his throat and coughing. Deralyct stepped forward and Avery looked up in fear at the fiery Demon King.

“Tomorrow will be your last day. You will not bother Jon anymore and you will obey every order he gives you. You have no place at my side so long as Jon is there. He has provided for me more in the past few weeks than you will in a hundred years. If I decide to let you survive after this incident try to learn your place.” Deralyct said. If he thought he could ever become an acceptable replacement for Jon than he would have to be taught the error of his ways. Painfully. Avery stood up quickly and bowed, mumbling apologies and running away before Deralyct could change his mind.

The night was quiet again and Deralyct calmed down his wings folded back down his back and the crown of fire hid itself under the horns of his head. Allura huffed and maintained her transformation.

“If I may be excused My Lord I feel the sudden need to destroy something and I have recently gathered Intel of a hidden forward base recreated by this nation's military.” she said, already walking away. Deralyct nodded and the succubus rose into the air before flying off faster than a human eye could follow. Now that he was alone again Deralyct could think again.

But Avery’s interruption had broken his chain of thought he instead focused on what he would do to the slave after tomorrow. Jon was annoyed by him. That much was obvious but Jon was also careful not to say anything outright about his feelings to Deralyct. Likely because the last time he had mentioned insubordination it had gotten the being in question killed. Deralyct sighed. Avery would be punished but he would be allowed to live.

If Jon didn’t think he was someone to worry about than Deralyct wouldn't bother bringing his full anger down on the pathetic human. He looked up at the moon and wondered what it would be like to have Jon next to him right now. Staring up together. Maybe having Jon nearby would help leach away any lingering anger and frustration. Which meant there was only one thing to do. Deralyct turned to go back to his chambers. The night was still young and if there were no more pressing matters than Deralyct could try to sleep.

“Good night, Deralyct.” had been Jon's parting message tonight. Jon so rarely said his name, even in private, and the Demon King felt something inside him relax a little. Yes, it would be a good night. Because tonight Deralyct would dream and maybe in those dreams he would find some of the answers plaguing him regarding his servant.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like this chapter is a little weird. Usually I pump out a chapter by sitting down and busting it out over the course of 6-8 hours but with this one real life (shudder) got in the way and I had to draw it out over two days. On another note. YAY. They are closer than ever and any chapter now they will be getting on with the whole 'relationship' thing. Right? WRONG.


	10. Comfort isn't Safety

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jon and Deralyct are beginning to feel comfortable around each other but the day has barely begun when a foolish slave makes a desperate gambit to get what they want and suffers the ultimate price for it.

Now that I was more or less fully recovered I had decided to follow Deralyct to his morning fights, a privilege he had been denying me all week, and enjoy some time outside. Deralyct had protested at first but after a little negotiating, or truthfully begging, he had finally agreed to let me follow him as long as I stood safely away from the fighting.

I watched every swing of blades avidly and gasped as a demon almost managed to land a blow on the Demon King. The opposing demon smile and swung wildly to capitalize on what it thought was an opening. Deralyct easily blocked the blow, leaving the demon’s body open for a rib breaking punch to the gut which sent it to the floor looking slightly more green than normal. I made a face as the demon down with a crash, its chest slightly caved, and watched Deralyct in anticipation.

I was watching for Deralyct to share his victory with me. Unsurprisingly Deralyct continued to level his opponents and after every fight he would look at me and smirk. At first it had been subtle but as the morning progressed he had switched from careful looks over his shoulder to turning directly toward me and raising his sword over his head in victory.

He was showing off for me and a healthy blush had settled on my face over the course of the fighting. Despite his previous reservations about me tagging along Deralyct seemed to be enjoying having me here. I smiled back at him and waved. His smirk widened into a grin before he initiated the fight with the next opponent with an overhead sweep of his blade that was barely dodged by the Kalavakus he now faced.

Deralyct became more extravagant with his moves using his tail, wings, and horns to level his enemies in ever more elaborate displays of martial prowess. If he was trying to impress me it was working and I clapped along with a number of other onlookers as the Kalavakus fell and Deralyct raised his sword in triumph before giving me that victory smirk and turning to the next demon. A short Vrock who looked very, very worried.

“Jon...I have something to say.” a familiar, and unwelcome, voice said behind me. My smile faded slightly and I turned to look at Avery. His eyes kept darting between Deralyct and me. Dark bags hung underneath his eyes and his skin had an ashen, pasty sheen that left him looking sickly. He was hunched behind a pillar in a way that hid him from most people's view and he was sweating enough that even my human nose could detect it.

“What do you want Avery?” I said and scrunching up my nose at the smell coming off him. I didn’t even try to hide my annoyance with him and, for a moment, his eyes narrowed and he stood up straight. He seemed like his normal self before he deflated and went back to hiding.

“I’m here to give you a chance.” He said, he swallowed thickly and peeked back at Deralyct before looking back at me, “Give me your position at the Demon King’s side and I won’t bother you anymore.” I stared at him incredulously for a moment before I started laughing. He reeled back in shock then scowled at me. “It’s not funny Jon! Goddammit i’m serious!” He said loudly standing up fully before ducking and looking around for anyone else who might be listening. “I’m not leaving.” He said, clenching his fists, “I was picked to be here and I deserve to have that spot.” Avery was practically pouting now, like a child who wasn’t used to hearing no, and used his hands to punctuate his words.

“No you don't.” I said, still smiling, “Deralyct chooses who serves him. Even if I did ask to leave it would be his choice to let me go or not and I doubt he would pick you.” I turned away just in time to see the Vrock go down with a kick. Did Avery really think this would work? This wasn’t some sort of office promotion I literally had no choice in whether or not I served Deralyct. Not that I was complaining about it anymore I thought as I watched the Demon King’s show off his power with another fight.

“If you gave him the choice he would choose me.” Avery said behind me, “Last chance. Give up your position to me and I won’t-” I rolled my eyes and looked back at him over my shoulder, losing my amusement and adopting a matching glare to the one Avery was currently giving me.

“Enough Avery.” I said, barely looking at him from over my shoulder, “I serve Deralyct, you don’t, and that's final. Today’s your last day and I’m tired of your constant demands. You should leave. Now.” I added the last word sternly when it looked like he was going to argue more. I looked back at Deralyct who seemed to have noticed Avery bothering me. He narrowed his eyes slightly and started to make his way over to us. Avery yelped.

“I gave you a chance Jon.” he said swiftly, staring at Deralyct with wide eyes, “Remember that.” and then he ran away. I heard the door leading into the palace open and close behind me but my eyes were glued onto Deralyct. Even though he had won every battle, and seemed to do so with ease, the Demon King still managed to work up a sweat and I watched as it made its way down his body, following the natural curves of his musculature, before I managed to look up and meet his eyes.

He seemed to notice my appreciative gaze and chuckled as he approached hoisting his sword over his shoulder and the rest of the demons either cleared out or took the losers to the infirmary leaving us nearly alone in the courtyard.

“Was the slave bothering you?” He asked, nodding at the door behind me and glaring but his tone was still friendly, “You seem to be recovered enough. I could send him away early.” He looked back down at me and the glare immediately softened as his eyes searched my face. I smiled up at him and his eyes latched onto my mouth.

“He’s just desperate to stay.” I said, “He wanted me to cede my position at your side to him.” I laughed with a shrug and looked behind me at the door, half expecting Avery to reappear in order to make his appeal directly to Deralyct, “Honestly it was kind of sad.” When I looked back at Deralyct however my smile faded. The crown of fire had begun to rise and Deralyct’s face had turned into a snarl, a deep growl rolled from his throat, and his eyes blazed brightly but no longer focused on me. “I told him no.” I said, unsure what exactly was making Deralyct so angry, “He ran off as soon as you saw him. Is everything all right?” I asked tentatively, taking a step forward.

Our height difference made it extremely awkward but I reached up and touched his hand, which had balled into a fist, my whole palm barely fitting over his knuckle. It was warm, and smooth, and rough, all at the same time like rock that had been worn down by centuries of water. The warmth spread from my hand into my body and quickly settled on my face but for once I wasn’t embarrassed about it. My worry trumped my personal anxiety.

When my hand connected he jerked his hand back slightly before allowing it to settle back under my touch. After a few moments of silence he let out a deep breath and his whole body relaxed as he willed himself out of whatever thought had angered him . His hand unraveled from a fist and grabbed my hand. He squeeze my hand gently and the warmth grew stronger. When his eyes focused on me they glowed softly and he gave me a weak smile in reassurance as his crown of fire died back down.

“It’s nothing you did.” He said softly, his tail curled carefully around his side to encircle me, “He made a similar request last night and it seems the answer I gave him wasn’t quite clear enough.” As he spoke his temper flared again and he took a moment to calm himself before continuing to speak. “Tell me if he bothers you again. I don’t want him causing you any stress when you’re just recovered.” I nodded and squeezed his hand back. He looked down at our hands in shock, like he hadn’t realized we were still touching, and carefully let my hand go.

I withdrew it and hid it inside my other hand. How long had I been planning to maintain contact? Of course, it had felt nice to have him squeeze my hand and I wondered what it would be like if we could really hold hands instead of just his hand engulfing mine. I glanced at the massive size of his fingers in comparison to mine. It wasn’t likely that was going to happen.

I guess I had to be content with the residual warmth that still flooded my body. He walked past me and motioned for me to follow. I took a moment to check out his profile as he passed and he flexed to make his muscles stand out more underneath his skin, maybe that was just my imagination though. I took up a position walking close behind him and to his right, almost as if we were walking side by side, and tried to continue the conversation. What exactly had Avery asked Deralyct last night? And, if it made Deralyct so angry, why wasn’t Avery a poorly cleaned up paste yet?

“So what exactly did Avery say to you?” I said raising my voice loud enough for him to hear me without turning. I could hear Deralyct let out another breath in a huff, I could’ve sworn I saw smoke when he did, but he didn’t answer immediately. I was just thinking that maybe he wasn’t going to answer when he spoke.

“He said he was the superior choice.” Deralyct said, his tone angry and scornful, his tail lashed behind him in agitation, “He claimed that he worked harder and faster and that he should replace you.” Deralyct scoffed. “I believe my answer was obvious.” He had said no. I wasn’t very surprised but I still felt a warm spot in my chest that he disliked the thought of Avery replacing me. Maybe he even disliked the thought of anyone replacing me. He didn’t really need a personal servant, he had gone centuries without one before, so maybe I wasn’t just here because I was useful or made a good deal. Maybe Allura was right.

“If he makes you so angry why didn’t you…” I trailed off. Did I really want to ask this? What if sparing Avery had been a spur of the moment decision and me poking Deralyct about it made the Demon King reconsider. The sight of Grathel’s corpse filled my mind and I shivered and a small lump of nausea settled itself in my gut. Avery was annoying but he didn’t deserve that. I watched Deralyct carefully for any sign he was reconsidering keeping Avery alive but he was turned away so I couldn’t read his face.

“Why didn’t I do to him what I did to Grathel?” Deralyct finished my question for me. I nodded and then, realizing he couldn’t see me, raised my voice.

“Exactly,” I said, “I mean. I’m glad you didn’t. But if all he did was insult me why are-” He turned on me and I almost ran into him but I managed to dodge away so we could look at each other. Deralyct’s face looked genuinely surprised. His eyes were open wide as he looked down at me.

“It makes me so angry because he insulted you.” Deralyct said, he stepped forward and knelt down beside me so he could look me in the eye easier, his sword came off his shoulder and he set the tip down against the ground with a heavy tink. My whole view was suddenly filled with very attractive, still half naked, Demon King and I began to feel flustered and looked down to avoid staring. Because he insulted me? It wasn’t exactly a secret we didn’t get along but it wasn’t something to get angry about. However this was the demon who had one of his lieutenants brutally killed as an example for planning to kill me…

My train of thought was interrupted when Deralyct’s hand reached under my chin, making me look up at him gently but firmly. The contact spread that strange but welcome warmth through my body and I felt the sudden urge to smile like an idiot but the look on Deralyct’s face kept me grounded and kept my eyes glued to his.

“He has no right to judge you.” He said his face serious and set like stone and his eyes bored into mine, “You are more important to me than you think. He has no right to stand where you stand and he doesn't hold a candle to what you’ve already accomplished let alone what you will do in the future” His gaze turned softer and his hand under my chin shifted until it slightly cupped my face.

“You have already proven yourself.” He said in barely a whisper, if we weren’t close I doubted I would be able to hear it, “To disregard all of your sacrifice and all of your success simply out of petty envy or pride? You shouldn’t be so quick to brush of insults Jon. You deserve better and you deserve to stand here beside me.” His hand moved again, his fingers brushed against my cheek and the heat from that touch flowed into my body which greedily sucked it in.

The warmth in his eyes made me feel too hot and I looked down and away from the Demon King with a smile. I hadn’t realized he thought so highly of me. It felt like I hadn’t really done all that much for him but apparently Deralyct was much more appreciative than I had guessed.

He stood again and I felt a twinge of disappointment when his hand pulled away, taking its wonderful warmth with it, and he began to walk away. I jumped to follow him quickly, still lost in my thoughts, before I realized he hadn’t really answered my question.

Why didn’t he just kill Avery? If Avery had insulted me and Deralyct thought that was unacceptable then Avery shouldn’t be bothering anyone, except for whoever's responsible for cleaning up soot, yet he was still alive. Deralyct seemed done with the conversation so, despite my curiosity, I let it rest. It didn’t really matter anyway. Avery would be gone tomorrow and then it would go back to being just Deralyct and me. The thought made me smile again, the two of us alone, I could hardly wait.

I was still riding the high of the conversation when we reached our chambers and we began to get ready for our bath. Deralyct had been so open with me and it felt nice to know he felt comfortable enough to talk to me like that. I remembered when I had stepped forward and touched his hand, and how I had helped dry off his back yesterday, and smiled. I guess I felt comfortable around him as well. When there was no one else around anyway. I rolled my eyes at the thought of Allura seeing us together like that. She would never let it go.

I was standing at my dresser grabbing my trunks and a change of uniform when I heard my chamber door open and close behind me. I heard swift steps approach behind me. I took a breath and opened my mouth to ask what they wanted as I turned when I felt a sharp pain in my gut.

My body went cold and my brain fogged. Pain? Why? I looked down at the offending region on my body and found a knife embedded inside of me. Dark red liquid seeped from around its edges and I realized it was my blood. Another series of chills wracked my body as I grabbed at the knife with shaking hands only to find it had removed itself. I looked up to follow its movement when it plunged into me again, this time in my chest, and the pain began to fully register to my body. The pain lanced through me and dulled my ability to think. I couldn't focus on anything except that I was being attacked. I needed help! I needed...Deralyct. I opened my mouth to speak, to cry out to him, but no sound left and I fell grabbing at anything around me to try and stay standing.

The knife left my body again and I realized someone was holding it. I tried to follow the hand and arm that held it but then it stabbed back into me and I grabbed it with the last of my strength. I felt the attacker pull at it but held on stubbornly and after a few moments and then the blade was ripped from my grasp. I looked up and saw a familiar set of angry green eyes.

“I warned you Jon.” a familiar, and unwelcome, voice said. I barely heard the words as I slumped onto the floor and my vision started to darken. I tried to speak but could only manage a whisper and blood began to leak from my lips.

“Deralyct…”

The water from the shower poured over him but he barely noticed the hot water as it washed away sweat and the tension of battle. Deralyct was too busy thinking about contact. He raised his hand, the same hand that had held Jon’s hand and touched his face, and sniffed at it. Even under the deluge of water he could still faintly smell the human and he sighed into the familiar scent.

Jon was growing more comfortable around him, comfortable enough to initiate contact, and Deralyct couldn’t help but feel glad that he did. When Jon had helped dry off his back yesterday he had been surprised, not many people voluntarily touched a Demon King, but enjoyed the feel of Jon’s hands on him gently drying off that stubborn patch of skin between his wings he couldn’t quite reach. Deralyct raised his head so the water fell directly on his face. The water fell down his face and over his horns in a messy waterfall before splashing loudly into the pool or water already gathered at his feet.

It had been a long time since anyone had been gentle with Deralyct and, perhaps unsurprisingly, Deralyct felt himself respond to the memory. Deralyct growled and lowered his head shaking it so water splattered far out of reach of the pool and across the tile that made up the shower’s floor. Thinking like that would only cause trouble and Deralyct couldn’t risk Jon taking notice when he arrived. Although Jon was running late.

Deralyct looked at the door that led through Jon’s personal washroom into his chambers. What was taking the human so long? The door began to open and Deralyct turned away before Jon could see him watching. The past week Jon had regained some of his weight and the pounds had filled in his ribs and stomach to reveal a lean but soft frame. Jon didn’t have a warriors body by any estimate but that didn’t stop the Demon King from being curious about how the human’s body would feel under his hands.

“Is there anything you need My Lord?”

That wasn’t Jon’s voice. Deralyct looked at the source of the voice with a glare. Avery stood beside the doorway waiting expectantly with a smile on his face. Anticipation and pride radiated from his body and Deralyct narrowed his eyes. Anger began to rise in his chest and he felt the shower’s water evaporate as his crown of fire rose from his head.

Even if Jon didn't want him dead this human obviously didn’t understand his place, he had been given more than enough chances, and now he was beginning to get on Deralyct's nerves. Deralyct raised a hand, flame enveloping his fist but just as he was about to burn the human to ash he paused. Jon was about to enter the shower and if he saw Avery’s body it may trigger another episode. Deralyct scoffed and lowered his hand, “Leave.” He ordered, no room for argument in his tone, he would deal with the slave later. Avery stepped forward and bowed.

“I can’t do that My Lord.” He said, pride filling his voice, “I am your new servant and it’s my duty to assist you in any way I can.” The human had become delusional, perhaps Deralyct could handle the problem before Jon took notice, there were many ways to kill men without making a mess. Deralyct stepped out from the pool and approached the human, taking a deep breath of annoyance, then froze.

Blood. The scent hung so heavily on the human it completely overpowered his natural body order. Deralyct stared down at the human. For the second time that week Deralyct felt fear begin to constrict his airway.

“What did you do?” Deralyct asked carefully taking another step forward. He could see it now. Drops of blood scattered across the slave’s uniform but a big hand print smudged his pant leg where someone had grabbed at him from the floor. Avery looked up at him and smiled. The human’s pupils were wide and he was taking deep breaths. The adrenaline was still coursing through his veins and the human was breathing hard and sweating.

“I did what you said.” The human told him, “You said I wouldn’t have a place at your side while Jon was there and Jon wouldn’t give up his spot to me willingly so I got rid of him.” Deralyct grabbed the human by the throat and ripped him off the ground holding him at eye level.

“I deserve to stand with you.” Avery choked out while pulling at the hand at his throat feebly, “I do whatever I have to to get what I want. I’m more demon than Jon could ever be!” 

“I don’t want a demon.” Deralyct said in a voice barely more than a growl, “I want Jon.”

Deralyct held the human close to his face and roared, the sound deafening anything else the human might have tried to say, and the human screamed and started thrashing around as the heat radiating from Deralyct began to burn him. His fight to survive was cut short as Deralyct's grip hardened and the humans body broke with a sickening crack. The limp body dropped to the floor with a thud and blood pooled around it, mixing with the water from the shower.

Everything was silent and, for a moment, Deralyct listened to the falling water before he charged the door leading to Jon’s washroom. The door splintered easily and he broke through the next door into Jon’s chamber without missing a stride. The wood fell across the floor and one of the doors fell to the floor with a crash, its hinges pulled from the wall, as Deralyct tore into the room looking for Jon. Panic causing him to break a portion of the wall with his tail as he turned to search the room.

He found him quickly next to his dresser and Deralyct grabbed it and threw it behind him out of the way and it shattered as it hit the wall, splintered wood and clothes flying over the room. Deralyct fell to his knees and carefully picked up the bleeding body. Jon was deathly pale and didn’t respond to being moved or Deralyct calling his name. He looked dead. Deralyct gave a defeated sigh and leaned forward, holding Jon in his arms so that he was completely encompassed by the Demon King’s body. Still warm. The body was still warm. Deralyct fell silent as foreign emotions ravaged his mind and heart.

He had failed. Jon had only been a couple rooms away and he had failed to protect him. He had promised to defend him, to keep him safe, and now Jon was dead in his arms and he was alone again. Deralyct mourned in silence, listening for any sign that Jon could be saved and with every moment his despair mounted when no sign appeared. Just as Deralyct was about to give up hope he heard a soft. Thump. He opened his eyes and and sucked in a breath, holding it to keep as quiet as possible, and then listened closer. A few moments later it repeated. Thump. Faint and weak as it was Jon’s heart still beat and Deralyct jumped up from the ground.

Adrenaline coursed through the Demon King’s body and he carefully placed Jon on his bed and knelt beside it, holding onto his hand tenderly. The Demon King called on his power and poured it into the unmoving body beneath him. It was dangerous. Even fully healthy it was unlikely Jon could survive a concentrated dose of demonic energy but if Deralyct had any hope of saving him he needed Jon to hold on long enough for his magic to work.

Through his magic he felt the wounds in Jon’s body and willed them closed. Jon’s body fought the foreign command and incompatible energy coursing through it and Deralyct growled and pushed past it’s resistance. Demonic energy was toxic to humans but if Deralyct could work fast enough he could heal Jon and extract his magic before it did any damage. The wounds slowly began to close and Deralyct felt a surge of hope.

He willed the body to make new blood and sent a surge of magic to supply the body with the energy it needed to do so when he felt the body begin to reject the offering. The healing stopped and his magic began to pour out of Jon’s body instead of through it and Deralyct felt another surge of fear. Not yet! It was to soon. He hadn’t managed to recover Jon’s body enough to save him. Desperately he sent another surge of magic through the body that met similar resistance until, from somewhere deep within, another magic rose.

The magic flowed over his own magic, intertwining and mixing together into something new, and calmed the body so it stopped rejecting his magic as it attempted to heal. He latched onto this new magic and directed it to Jon’s wounds. Jon’s body greedily grabbed hold of the combined power and carefully the body begin to stitch together and Deralyct sighed in relief and hope.

This other magic felt familiar but new and as Deralyct worked to save Jon he felt the power flow back into him. His first instinct was to close himself off, he didn’t know what the magic was, but if he did that he wouldn’t be able to heal Jon and he didn’t know if he would be able to establish another connection without permanently damaging him. He was forced to allow the magic to run its course and, as the magic gently moved through him, he realized what it was.

For a moment he was reminded of Jon’s hand on his back and Jon’s voice as they spoke by the fire. The magic reached out between Jon’s body and Deralyct and touched his face. It was Jon. Deralyct sighed in relief and leaned into the magic which responded in kind to be closer to him.

Although weaker than Deralyct’s Jon’s magic calmed his body and allowed the Demon King to finish healing its wounds. Deralyct closed a knife wound and turned his power to the next problem before realizing that he was finished. Jon’s body was completely healed although Jon still had not woken up. Deralyct searched the body for any more problems with his magic and, upon finding none, sighed wearily. Jon was saved.

Deralyct allowed himself a few moments of peace to calm his own wildly beating heart and to still the lingering fear still guiding his actions. Deralyct relaxed into the intermingling of their magics as Jon's power curiously began to explore. It hadn’t been easy saving Jon and he felt genuinely tired from the effort. Jon’s magic reached out and he felt it try to restore his arcane reserves. He chuckled and carefully closed the connection between them, making sure to remove all his demonic energy so it wouldn’t cause any lasting problems for the human.

As much as he might appreciate Jon’s efforts it would only cause Jon more problems if he emptied himself trying to help Deralyct. Already Deralyct felt his magic starting to return to its normal levels and it would take Jon, who had never used magic before, far longer to recover what he had lost during the healing.

Fully disconnected Deralyct came back to the physical world in a daze. The sun still shone out the into Jon’s chambers brightly. Deralyct had only been kneeling beside Jon’s bed for a few minutes even though it felt like hours had passed. Deralyct looked down at the still sleeping human. Blood still covered his body and his uniform was torn where the blade had pierced him.  
Deralyct carefully pulled open the uniform, the cloth tearing easily, and inspected his work. Three razor thin scars broke the human’s otherwise perfectly smooth skin and Deralyct put his hand over the human’s chest to feel his heart beating. It still felt so small. Deralyct looked how his hand entirely encompassed Jon’s chest as it rested on him. He was so small. But he was safe. Deralyct allowed himself a few moments to enjoy being close to Jon now that the crisis had been averted. He closed his eyes with a smile. Everything was going to be alright.

Then the wall erupted inward with an avalanche of stone. Deralyct leaped over Jon, shielding him from the falling debris. Slera burst through the gaping hole in the wall, her sword brandished and her entire being cloaked in corrupted light, and took a ready stance.

“My Lord I heard your roar and came as soon as-” Deralyct glared at her from where he sprawled, still in only his towel, over Jon’s body. Slera lowered her sword and the light dimmed slowly. “My Lord?” She asked tentatively. Stepping around the mess she had made she approached the bed. Deralyct growled and she froze and took a step back. “I apologize if I was hasty My Lord but I was under the impression that you were under attack.” She glanced at Jon and her eyes narrowed on the blood that still coated his body and the bed beneath him.

“What happened here?” she asked, some of her anger returning, “If someone has dared offend you by attacking your property I will end them.” she brandished her sword again now that she had found another excuse to fight. Deralyct growled again at the fallen celestial. He didn’t want anyone swinging around swords near Jon while he was unconscious and unable to defend himself.

During Slera’s vow Allura peeked into the hole and, upon deciding it was safe to do so, entered carefully through the door still standing beside the hole. She studied the scene before her and sighed before placing a hand on Slera’s shoulder which the fallen celestial shrugged off but she lowered her sword again as she gave the succubus a questioning glance.

“I believe the threat has passed Slera.” Allura said, nodding through the ruined doors leading to the shower where Avery’s broken corpse was barely visible. “The slave Avery took it upon himself to attempt to violently usurp Jon’s position. Dying at our Lord’s hand was an honor he didn’t deserve but practically begged for.” Allura got to her knee and bowed to Deralyct who still had not moved from his position over Jon.

“I sincerely apologize My Lord.” She said. Slera looked down at her like she had grown a second head before getting down on her knee beside the succubus. “If I had payed more attention I would have seen the violent intent of the slave Avery before he struck.” Allura continued. She knelt lower and exposed her neck. “I accept any punishment for my failure you deem necessary.”

Deralyct and Slera were both stunned into silence for a few moments. Deralyct sighed and leaned back until he was again sitting on his knees beside Jon’s bed giving the demoness’ a clear view of Jon’s condition.

“Neither of you is at fault.” Deralyct said, noticeably calmer, “None of us saw the potential in the slave to do anything as rash as this.” He looked down at Jon and the Generals matched his gaze. Jon hadn’t moved throughout the commotion but already color was returning to his skin and Deralyct hoped that soon he would open his eyes and tell Deralyct for himself that he was alright. “He paid for his crimes dearly, but died too quickly,” Deralyct continued, “see to it that he is disposed of.” Deralyct stood and picked up Jon gently, cradling him into his chest, Slera watched the action with confusion but Allura’s eyes lit up and she smiled and both the generals followed suit and stood.

“Of course my Lord.” she said, voice light and thick with joy and emotion, “Your servants will take care of it for you.” Deralyct nodded and turned away. A small breeze made the human in his arms move slightly and Deralyct smiled at the sign of life.

“And repair the walls.” he said as he left, barely listening to the affirmations of his generals, and watched the sleeping human for any sign that he was going to wake up. As he opened the door that led from Jon’s chamber into his rooms he heard Slera speak behind him.

“What in the abyssal depths just happened Allura?”

“Oh Slera,” came Allura’s reply, “I believe Our Lord has chosen someone to fight for.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well would you look at that. This story isn't dead. Sorry about the late chapter. I hoped everyone enjoyed this little development because next we see Deralyct get a little TLC.


	11. Soft

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jon wakes up confused after the attack and finds a more than slightly distraught Demon Lord who needs a little TLC.

Warm. Comfortable. Safe.  
I slowly began to regain consciousness. Light was barely beginning to shine through the window and into my eyes and I knew instinctively that I had another half-hour to laze about before the light was too bright to ignore. It had been a long time since I had felt so debilitated by comfort and I prayed that today was my day off. It’s not that I didn’t enjoy working at Linguine Palace it’s just that-

Linguine Palace was gone.

The demon invasion, my deal, my family, Deralyct, the attack...Avery! I shot up with a gasp and nearly fell off the bed as a sudden, bone numbing, exhaustion came over me and made me lose control of my forward momentum. I barely had a moment to register that I wasn’t in my bed before I felt a big, strong, hand grab my shoulder to stabilize me and push me gently back onto the sheets.

“Careful.” A deep and familiar voice said, “You haven’t fully recovered.” Deralyct sat beside his bed wearing his comfortable clothes instead of his armor. One of his arms was propped up on his knee and he seemed barely awake himself as he helped me lay down . I noticed a warm indent beside me on the bed where he had been resting before I had so suddenly disturbed him and wondered how long exactly he had been sitting beside me.

A fire burned in the fireplace even though the sun still shone high in the sky and the combined heat should have been stifling but instead I felt comfortable in Deralyct’s bed. I settled back into Deralyct’s bed slowly, mostly due to Deralyct’s hand still pushing me down, and tried to gather a coherent stream of thoughts to explain why I was there through the fog that settled over my mind.

“Why am I- What happened? I was getting ready...Avery.” My drowsiness returned as I settled and I fought to stay awake. Deralyct sighed and I felt his other hand carefully rest on my chest and stomach. I squirmed under the contact and pushed against his hand with my own to try and stop him then I stopped as my hand brushed unfamiliar topography on my skin. I sat back up slightly, Deralyct’s grip on my shoulder helping, and looked down at my chest. I wasn’t wearing anything beyond a pair of pants, the same pair I had been wearing before the attack, and I could see three thin scars across my body, new and barely visible against my skin. I tentatively traced over the scars with my hand marveling at how different they felt compared to normal skin.

I remembered the knife, Avery attacking me, trying to call for Deralyct. I looked up at Deralyct with wide eyes and he motioned me to be silent as I opened my mouth to start asking questions. Deralyct’s hand grabbed my own and held it on my chest reassuringly.

“I barely got to you in time.” He said softly, “He stabbed you three times,” he moved my hand over the scars, in the order of the stabbing, as he spoke, “he thought he could replace you by killing you.” Deralyct scoffed but kept his voice soft and low so as not to disturb me.

“You saved me?” I whispered, my voice weak and small, “How long have I-”

“Two days.” He said before I could finish my question. He hung his head towards the floor and squeezed my hand. “You’ve been asleep for two days since it happened.” He looked up at me. His eyes searched my face and hesitantly made eye contact before looking away. “Two days since I let you get hurt.” He said bitterly looking away from me. He stood quickly, knocking his chair to the ground, and pulled his hands away from me like I had burned him. He stalked away from me. His crown of fire and wings rose as he walked to the wall farthest from me.

“You aren’t the one who hurt me.” I said as he walked away, wondering if he could even hear what I was saying, “It’s not your-”

“It is my fault!” he yelled and punched the wall, his fists crashing through the stone and making the whole room shake. I jumped, he hadn’t raise his voice at me since I made my deal, and I froze as stone fell to the floor with a crash. I had never seen him like this before. He ripped his hand from the wall and raised it in a fist to punch again but lost his motivation halfway through the swing. It connected with the wall and the stone cracked and he rested his fist in the indent while he stared into the hole he had made like it held the answer to dealing with his anger.

“I promised to keep you safe. I promised that I wouldn’t let you get hurt.” He struck the wall again and more cracks spider webbed from the point of impact and small pieces of stone and dust fell to the floor. “And I failed.” his voice fell with his wings until they dropped to the floor, his crown of fire dimmed until it was a barely visible halo of blue flame, “I let you get hurt because I didn’t think that vermin,” his voice spat angrily as he spoke about Avery, “would hurt you.” he put his other hand against the wall and held himself up against it.

He was silent and I wondered if I should say anything but before I could he continued, “He never should have touched you. I was blind and because I failed to see the threat for what it was you almost died. I...”

His voice died away and silence filled the room again. I was glad his back was turned to me so he couldn’t see how much his outburst had unsettled me. Not once in the entire time I had known him had Deralyct ever lost control. I had seen him angry but even in his anger he was deliberate and controlled. This was different. It was like he didn’t know who to punish or how to deal with his anger and now he was lashing out at anything he could. It was the closest to defeat I had ever seen him.

My heart clenched as I watched him stand against the wall from the bed. His shoulders shook occasionally and I could hear deep and heavy breaths emanating from him just as much as I could feel the heat radiating from his barely moving form.

I looked down at the floor as I planned my next move. The distance from the bed to the floor was almost as tall as me and I almost fell as I forced my weak body to move after my difficult healing process on top of two days without moving. My feet hit the floor and I winced at the cold that lanced through my feet and up my legs. Deralyct didn’t move as I approached him and I paused before reaching out.

My hand grazed his thigh and he shuddered but didn’t respond otherwise. His eyes were closed when I looked up at his face with his jaw clenched tight. I sat down with a sigh and leaned against his leg and waited. I picked up a broken piece of the wall and examined it as I waited and Deralyct began to respond to my presence. He fell to his knees slowly behind me and pulled me up until I was sitting in his lap. His arms fell from the wall and one fell beside me so I, with difficulty, grabbed it and dragged it into my lap.

It was the first time I had an opportunity to inspect his hands closely and I took full advantage as I waited for him to fully calm down. Thin lines, not unlike my own, cut through the skin of his palm and I wondered if demons believe in things like life or heart lines and palm reading. I traced the lines for a few minutes before I turned to hand over to inspect the back. I traced over the scars I found and I wondered just how many Deralyct had. Maybe he didn’t even know, he didn’t seem like the kind of person to notice any wound that wasn’t life threatening, and I wondered how long it had been since anyone cared when he got hurt. I settle my hand inside of his and he gripped in weakly.

“Thank you for saving me.” I said, his arm tightened around me but otherwise he didn’t respond. “You saved me, Deralyct,” I said craning my neck to look up at him, his eyes had opened and he was watching me closely through half lidded eyes. He looked away when I looked at him, refusing to meet my eyes, and sighed.

“You shouldn’t have needed saving.” He said, staring out the window, “You should have been safe.”

“I am safe.” I said, turning around and standing to face him in his lap, and reaching up to turn his head towards me. He obliged my attempts after a few seconds of me futilely trying to move his head and looked down at me. We were almost face to face now and I held his head to look him in the eye but he still refused to meet my gaze. “Hey,” I said softly cupping his head with my hands, a ridiculous move considering how small I was compared to him, “Look at me.” Slowly he met my gaze and held it, his head twitched to look away again but I held it still. “I’m safe, I'm alive, all because of you.”

“You wouldn’t have been hurt if you weren’t my servant.” he said. He grabbed my right arm and gently rubbed the mark on my skin, his eyes left mine to trace over it.

“Do you think I would be safer without you?” I asked, he looked back at me for a moment but returned to inspect the mark on my arm, “If I hadn’t come to you and we never met what would have happened to me?” I said with an amused scoff. “I barely survived the invasion and I wasn’t going to leave my family. I would have been taken to the cages or killed or I’d have been lost in the city. That's hardly a better life than what you gave me.” I grabbed the hand rubbing my arm and he looked back at me. “The only reason I’m here, alive, is because of you.”

“But you shouldn’t be here.” He said, growing irritated again, every sentence his voice became louder and angrier and I felt a cold lump nestle itself in my throat even though I knew the anger wasn’t directed at me, “You shouldn’t be lying in my bed after almost dying. You shouldn't be covered in scars. You shouldn’t be around someone who can't protect you.” I didn’t know how to calm his fears or anger with my words but I hoped that I could reach him if I got a little bit closer. I wrapped my arms around his neck, as much as I could without cutting myself on his horns, and buried my head under his chin and pressed myself as close as I could.

He didn’t move right away, as if he was having trouble registering what was happening, but then slowly his arms hugged me back and his head fell slightly so he could get closer to me. I was pressed tight against his body and the warmth coming off him seeped into my skin. I sighed and closed my eyes to enjoy the moment, the heat, the familiar scent of metal and fire, as Deralyct finally began to calm down. I heard him take a deep breath and I could feel the tension start to leave him as the muscles under my arms relaxed one by one.

I heard the rustle of wings and a soft breeze and opened my eyes. Deralyct had surrounded us with his wings, completely cutting us off from the outside world. Light barely filtered in through the skin of his wings leaving us in a dark, red-tinted, organic space. I pulled away and looked up at Deralyct, his arms loosening slightly to allow the movement but otherwise kept me pressed against him. Deralyct’s eyes burned brightly down at me and lit his face through the shadows caused by his wing cage and I felt my heart beat race against the deep, steady rhythm of his heart beating in his chest at the sudden change in his demeanor.

His eyes slowly broke our gaze and traveled down my face until they reached my lips where they stared hungrily. I sucked in a breath and bit my lip as my face began to heat up and Deralyct growled softly. I shivered as the sound rushed through me and I smiled and looked down from Deralyct to hide my growing embarrassment. 

His hold on me shifted and I looked back at him as he lowered his head. His lips touched mine softly before pulling away. His lips were smooth but hard unyielding and from his mouth I felt a blazing heat like I my head had been shoved in front of an open oven. It was over so quickly I didn’t have the chance to respond when he pulled away quickly and hung his head. I heard him take a shuddering breath and his arms released me as his wings curled back and I shivered as the relatively cold air once again assaulted me.

“I shouldn’t have done that,” he said, glancing up at me nervously, his tail lashed the ground behind him,“I just-” I kissed him. He inhaled in surprise at my clumsy assault but then he leaned into it, his arms once again rising to stabilize me as he pressed his lips to mine in return. Heat from his mouth filled my lungs and I felt my temperature spike dangerously high as adrenaline flooded my veins. I could taste the heat as it passed through me and I pushed forward again eagerly pressing my soft and malleable lips against his unforgiving, but warm and smooth, ones. I smiled against his mouth as we broke off and his hot breath washed over my face and further deepened my complexion.

“I didn’t think you could want me.” He said, leaning his forehead against mine, “after everything I’ve done and let happen to you…”

“After everything you’ve done.” I said taking deep breaths as I came down from the high of our kiss, “how could I not want you? You keep me safe and sane. Without you I would be dead or lost and alone...also you force me to watch you shower.” His tail beat against the floor as he threw his head back to laugh. I smiled up at him even as I was slightly jostled by his movements as pressed against him as I was.

“That is to make sure you were taking care of yourself.” He said with a smile and he stood holding me in his arms. I raised an eyebrow.

“Mm-hmm. No other reason.” He chuckled again and I held onto his neck as he walked back to the bed and set me down gently on the covers. I settled down on the bed and stretched and he watched me hungrily with a smirk and hand came down and gently touched my chest, feeling my body as it moved under his touch, and I smiled up at him and relaxed into his advance. I saw his smirk falter as his hand brushed over the scars. As much as I wanted him now wasn't the time to explore what we could do together, not so soon after I had almost died, I touched his hand reassuringly and he looked up at my face and he relaxed again.

“I think we both are tired.” I said gently pulling him down beside me, “We can talk more later but for now,” He lay down beside me slowly, careful not to hurt me, once he was situated I shuffled closer on the bed to him, "now we rest." He turned over on his side and pulled me closer until I was pressed against him, surrounded by him. Now settled we laid together until I eventually found myself falling asleep, warm, comfortable, and safe.

He was sleeping. He had been sleeping for the past two days but now Deralyct could be sure that Jon was alright so he felt none of the fear for the small body next to him that had plagued him since the healing. He tried not to move too much, worried that he would disturb the Jon’s rest, but his hand came down to rest against Jon’s chest partially to pull him closer and partially to feel his heart beat.

The steady, quiet beat of the human’s heart reassured him and the meager warmth of Jon’s body against his further quieted any lingering fear about the human’s state of health. Still he couldn’t help a thin sliver of guilt cut through his contentment as he felt the scars that now blemished Jon’s otherwise unblemished skin. Despite Jon’s assurances and comfort Deralyct couldn’t fully forgive himself for letting Jon be hurt.

The human stirred and turned over in his sleep, digging his face into Deralyct’s chest, before going still once more. Deralyct smiled down at the sleeping human and relaxed. He could still feel Jon’s lips against his and he allowed himself to bury his fears and guilt under the recent memory.

He had been so...soft. It had been a long time since Deralyct had felt anything soft against his lips. A smile had crept over his face as he watched Jon sleep before it fell away again. There was so much to do and the day was only half over and with Jon mended he had little excuse to lay around and watch Jon sleep. Carefully he got up from the bed moving slowly in order not to wake up his sleeping human. Just as he got up a small hand grabbed onto his tail which made him freeze and turn around.

Jon was still asleep but had grabbed Deralyct’s tail as he got up and was now wrapped around it, digging his face into the warm skin. Deralyct smiled again and carefully extracted himself from Jon’s grasp before pulling the blankets over his body. Jon nestled into the covers and his slow breathing settled Deralyct's concerns that he had disturbed Jon with his movements.

Deralyct walked over to his desk and sighed at the larger than usual stacks of paper in front of him. He had been neglecting his duties while Jon slept after the attack and now he was paying the price for it. With another look over his shoulder at Jon he picked up the first of many papers and started to read but quickly gave up when he couldn’t focus. Jon would be attacked again and Deralyct knew he couldn’t be around all the time. It just wasn’t possible. If Jon was going to be in danger then Deralyct needed a way to keep him safe that didn't rely on him being around Jon at every moment.

Deralyct set down the report with a sigh and closed his eyes to think for a moment before inspiration struck him. He couldn't always be around Jon and he couldn't spare Slera or Allura to guard him when Deralyct wasn't available and he didn't trust anyone else to guard Jon while he was away. If he couldn’t always be around Jon to keep him safe, and he couldn't find someone he trusted to guard him full time, he would just have to train Jon to protect himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally. I hope no one thought this story was dead. Fortunately not because we haven't gotten to the smut yet!


	12. Kisses and Soft Beds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Deralyct and Jon are settling into how they feel for each other as Deralyct's plans for world domination take a surprising turn.

“Again.” My arms were burning and my breath came in deep greedy rasps as I shakily raised my sword one more time. Deralyct stood a short ways away waiting and just as I had my sword and stance righted he swung at me. He had used his magic to make himself shorter, only towering over me at seven feet, but he still hit like a ton of bricks. I blocked clumsily and even though he was holding back considerably my shoulders and arms screamed in agony as our swords clashed again.

Deralyct had taken it upon himself to train me to defend myself and, while I could appreciate the idea behind it, I was really starting to think he had saved me from Avery so he could finish me off himself. Instead of fighting with his demons in the morning he had cordoned off the time to force me into shape and over the past few days I had slowly, painfully began to learn the way of the sword. He swung again towards my other side and I moved my sword to block and bit back from crying out in pain. We had been at this for over an hour and Deralyct was showing no sign of letting up anytime soon.

“Again.” I groaned and shot Deralyct a glare which he returned with a smirk. Sadistic bastard. “Just breath,” he said readying his sword to strike, “and raise your sword. It will become second nature eventually.” I sighed and closed my eyes, taking a deep breath, before opening them and lifting my sword. He swung at me and I could tell this strike would be harder than the ones before. I braced myself for the blow when Deralyct was interrupted mid swing by an Allura.

“My Lord the preparations for our next step are nearly complete.” Deralyct lowered his sword and turned to Allura and I took the opportunity to drop myself and my sword to the ground and struggle with remaining conscious. Their conversation faded into and out of focus as I tried to get my heart rate back to a reasonable level but the snippets I did catch were enough to draw my attention away from my suffering.

“...for the peace talks…” Peace? With who? I was still too exhausted to pay real attention but bits of the conversation drifted to where I lay on the ground.

“Do they suspect…” My breaths started too calm and I focused in on what the two demons were saying.

“...wary but willing to attend…” No good, from this distance I just couldn’t hear them so I sat up to better hear what they were saying but it was already beginning to draw to a close.

“Of course My Lord everything will be done to help the humans feel at ease,” Allura said with a frown, “but they humans of this world seem even more suspicious than normal.”

“We have a long history of invading each other,” I piped in from the floor making both the demons turn to me, “and a long history of asking for peace then stabbing each other in the back.”

“This world grows on me more every day.” Allura said as she smiled down at me. Deralyct stepped forward and offered a hand to help me up. I took it gratefully as my body refused to operate on its own power. Once I was on my own two feet and sure I wasn’t going to fall over again Deralyct turned back to Allura, his hand still gripping mine reassuringly.

“So what exactly is going on?” I asked, “I didn’t know peace was on the table.”

“It wasn’t,” Allura said glancing between Deralyct and me, “but it seems this world has more to offer than we had assumed. Our Lord has decided it would be worth the risk to slow our plans to uncover its secrets.”

“It hasn’t been easy but we have managed to convince a number of your earth’s governments to send representatives to begin talking about a cease fire.” Deralyct said pulling me a step closer and wrapping his tail around me, “We are planning an event to begin the talks.”

“You're going to throw a party?” I asked raising an eyebrow. I guess they had to start somewhere but it seemed a little insincere to invade someone and then invite them for cake and dancing.

“It's a start,” Allura said, “even the smallest gestures add up over time and besides,” she smiled at me with a wink, “a few bribes or...favors, to the right people and international relations can improve immensely.” She laughed as I rolled my eyes, succubi never change, and unsuccessfully hid my smile.

“Speaking of,” She glanced between us, “you two have been especially close recently. Have you been exchanging favors?” I froze and gaped at her like a fish. I knew Allura was direct but she usually softened the blow with a teasing wink or smile. Unlike me Deralyct seemed to keep his composure but standing next to him I noted a dramatic spike in the heat coming off him.

“Careful Allura.” He said with false calm, I felt the tail around my waist tighten reassuringly as he spoke, “Some things even you don’t have the right to ask about.” Allura bowed but I caught her smile before her hair hid it. She rose quickly sending her strawberry blond hair back over her shoulders and horns.

“No offence was meant my lord. I’ll get started on getting the event ready.” She walked away with an extra sway in her step and I felt more than heard Deralyct sigh and his grasp on me relaxed.

“I’m sorry for Allura,” He said kneeling down so his face was nearly level with mine, “sensitivity was never her strong suit and she loves to pry.” He raised my hand to his lips and kissed it. The heat from his lips raced through my hand and brought a smile to my face.

“It's not your fault. Honestly I should have expected it from her based on her usual, uh, conduct.” Deralyct chuckled into my hand and I reached out with my other one and cupped his cheek. He leaned into the touch as he stared at me. His smile fell though and he leaned closer.

“Are you happy, Jon?” it felt like someone had dumped a bucket of ice water into my veins.

“What?” I asked weakly. My entire body felt out of my control as I stood frozen for the second time that day. “Of course I am.” I said finally gaining control of my body and taking a step to Deralyct my free hand moved from his cheek to his neck and he released my hand to let me get closer. “What makes you think i'm not?”

“I only know how you make me feel.” He said standing and holding me up by my waist with my arms still wrapped around his neck. “I have spent so long taking what I wanted without caring about anyone else. I worry that I might be ignoring how you feel and that you might be too afraid to tell me.” I kissed his cheek and settled myself in his arms with a sigh.

“ I haven’t been afraid of you in a long time.” I said as he began to carry me back inside the castle only stopping to stoop down and grab my discarded weapon. “Do you remember when I first came to you?” He sighed and frowned.

“I remember hurting you.” he said in a huff, narrowing his eyes at the memory, “yelling at you and grabbing your throat.”

“I was afraid.” I admitted making him look at me. He paused in the hall to indulge me. “But ever since then you have only ever made me feel safe and wanted. It took some getting used to and a lot of change but I can safely say that I am happy here with you,” I kissed his cheek, “because of you.” He looked away from me but I caught the quick smile that flashed over his face before he did. He started walking again and pulled me up until I was riding on his elbow and level with his face.

“I am sorry for how I acted that day.” He said looking at me from the corner of his eye, “If I had known how much you mean to me I would have behaved better.” I laughed and caught him off guard he raised an eye ridge as he looked at me.

“You are a Demon King.” I said as my laugh died down, “You’re my Demon King and, a little rough or not, I wouldn’t have you any other way.” Back at our room I was placed on the bed and Deralyct leaned over me and stared down at me with a half lidded expression. His eyes wandered down my body before coming up just ass slowly to meet my eyes before he adjusted so his face hung just over mine.

“What are you doing?” I asked with a smile grabbing one of his horns in a futile effort to bring him closer. He resisted my tugging with a smile of his own.

“I must have been blind to not see you sooner.” He said softly, he leaned down and kissed me softly before pulling back again, “I only saw you as a means to an end. A useful tool that I could use and discard as needed. I didn’t think you would get close. I didn’t think you would make your way into my mind, into my heart. Into my bed.” He punctuated his words with little kisses and his voice deepened into a growl at the end. Before I could respond he bit my neck gently and I gasped at the sudden change in tactics.

Instinctively I grabbed his horns to push him off and he growled so loud and deep I could feel it vibrating through my body from his mouth on my neck. My hands, still holding onto his horns, pulled him closer as his mouth suckled the spot gently but insistently. He let go of my neck and surveyed his work with a glowering smirk. My breath hitched as I looked up at him all dark and powerful and domineering. He had me trapped between his arms underneath him and he knew I couldn’t, wouldn’t, stop him from doing anything he wanted with me.

He licked his lips and leaned down again when a knock interrupted us and leaving us both frozen in our places. He growled again, in annoyance instead of arousal, and kissed me again before leaving me on the bed to open the door, and possibly maim, whoever was on the other side. Slera barely waited for the door to open before marching inside and turning to Deralyct.

“My Lord I am here to talk over plans of security for the cease fire. Are you really planning to-” she paused and looked around. Deralyct wasn’t in his armor and breathing heavy and me lying on the bed with my cheeks flushed and a very visible love bite starting to form on my neck. I could see the wheels turning in her head as she came upon the only possible scenario to explain what she had stumbled in on. She turned to Deralyct and bowed.

“I apologize My Lord I wasn’t aware you were waiting on your servant to change finish making the bed before aiding you in donning your armor but I believe that these concerns take precedence over your morning routine.” she said evenly. Was she even capable of registering emotions other than anger and disgust I wondered as I pushed myself up from where I lay on the bed.

“Helping him put more clothes on is the last thing I want.” I muttered as I clumsily slid off the bed to the floor. Fun time in bed was officially off the table and we both had things we needed to do before we were any more late than we already were. Deralyct seemed to accept that fact with similar dejection as he addressed his less amorous general.

“Your concerns about security are expected but I already planned to explain-” I rolled my eyes and smiled at him as he tried, unsuccessfully, to usher Slera out of the room. I walked past them and gave him a reassuring pat as I passed on my way into my former room to get ready for the rest of the day.

“I just don’t see why this is necessary.” I said as Allura held up yet another shirt to my chest to check its fit. Apparently my agenda for the day included being fitted for an outfit for the Met Gala and I had already turned down her previous six outfits for being to flashy, too much, or in one unsettling but memorable case, too little. “I’m a slave. I don’t need to stand out or flex on anybody Allura.” I said grabbing the outfit and throwing it on the Succubus' bed before she could even ask if I liked it, “I just need something that doesn't scream too poor to have good taste and doesn't put a spotlight on my back.”

“I really liked that one.” Allura pouted looking at my seventh discarded outfit, “brought out your eyes.”

“Yeah and no one would notice given how it exposed my nipples.” I said. She smiled innocently at me before grabbing yet another suit from nowhere and checking my measurements despite my protests. “You’re a general,” I said with a loud sigh, “don’t you have anything better to do?”

“When My Lord sets me to a task I make sure to complete it to the best of my ability. This task is simply far too important to leave to anyone else. Besides,” she winked at me, “I enjoy our little chats.” I rolled my eyes and held out my arms so she could check the sleeve length.

“Can’t I just wear my usual uniform?” I said, “It seems nice enough to wear to this thing for me.” Allura gasped and pulled back a hand raised to her lips in perfectly over the top shock.

“That...thing.” she gestured to my normal clothes, “Is a travesty made for modesty not fine dining.” she pulled back as if she just noticed how close she was to my current garb before continuing. “You need to wear something that fits your station as King Deralyct’s personal servant...and lover.” I flinched and felt my cheeks heat while Allura gave me another cheeky smile. “I would be blind not to notice. Although you don't seem to have actually done the deed yet.” I put a hand over my love bite but Allura's smirk told me my attempt to flair the collar of my uniform had been unsuccessful in hiding it.

Her words stated facts but her tone inquired me to expound on what exactly was happening between me and Deralyct and I couldn’t help but sigh. Despite its obvious risks she was the only one, besides Deralyct, I could go to with my thoughts.

“We might have but Slera seems to have a sixth sense for intruding at the worst times.” Allura laughed.

“She didn’t!” she said her eyes and incisors twinkling with mirth. “I always believed that to be an obnoxious trope in stories. Did she really interrupt you two while you were-”

“Not while,” I corrected hastily, cheeks burning at the thought, “but just before we could she knocks on the door to talk about security and you know talking about security with Slera is the best way to kill attraction.” I pouted as I talked much to Allura’s amusement.

“So how long has it been since you two admitted how you felt instead of circling the issue like vultures around carrion.” she asked, fashion show temporarily forgotten, and leaned forward hands under her chin like a child waiting for a story.

“Well I guess it sort of happened after I was attacked,” I said, honestly everything after Avery attacked me was blurry if I remembered it at all but I could feel it in my bones that it really started there, “I was hurt and he healed me and we...connected.” Allura’s eyes narrowed at the mention of my attack but she didn’t interrupt and nodded at me to continue.

“Well I slept for three days and when I woke up and we…talked.” I wasn’t sure how much more I could really tell her. Deralyct wasn’t proud of his loss of control but she had to know about it right? The holes he had punched into the wall had been patched up but I didn’t feel like this was something I could share with her. “Well more than talked…” I admitted. “We kissed.” Allura squealed and jumped up and down.

“I knew it.” She yelled, pointing at me, “I knew he got over your attack too quickly.” she laughed and spun around before wrapping me in a hug. I was too stunned to reciprocate but she pulled back quickly.

“It's tragic that something like a threat on your life is what it took but I'm so happy you were able to admit your feelings for each other. Even if your taking it slower than I would.” it was my turn to laugh as she turned to pour us drinks.

“How fast exactly would you be going.” I asked good naturedly and Allura shrugged and pushed a glass into my hand.

“I would be rebounding with someone else by now.” she said clinking her glass to mine with a wink. I scoffed in amusement and took a measured sip. I remembered how Allura’s particular vintage affected me last time and I was determined not to let that happen again.

“But now,” Allura said, downing her glass, “back to getting dressed.” I groaned but put down my glass as she produced yet another set of shirts and pants for me to judge.

“I’d rather talk about my feelings.”

When Jon returned to the room Deralyct was waiting for him sitting by the fire and watching it burn. Jon took a moment to watch the Demon King in one of his rare moments of distraction. His crimson eyes glowed softly at something far away as he looked through the fire. His head rested in his hand propped up on his elbow. His tail softly brushed back and forth across the floor adding a soft swish to the crackling flames.

His armor had already been removed and he sat with nothing but a pair of pants. Jon watched the light of the fire dance over Deralyct’s form as he approached. Deralyct noticed him and sat up with a tired smile. Reaching down he pulled the human up until Jon was sitting in his lap, his back to the Demon King's chest, and watched the fire with him.  
“You’re late.” Deralyct noted with a smile, nuzzling the soft head of the human, “Was Allura being difficult about your clothes for the party.” The human murred and raised his head to look up at the Demon King with a smile.

“Actually it was me who was being picky.” He said, “Unfortunately me and Allura don’t share the same taste in clothing but we finally decided on something we were both happy with.” The Demon Lord chuckled. He kissed the human, the position was awkward for both of them and it broke off quickly. Jon turned in his lap to face Deralyct directly and kissed him again, sighing into Deralyct’s lips and letting himself relax.

“I’m sure whatever you chose will be perfect.” Deralyct said, breaking the kiss gently, “I understand how difficult it is to dress up for these parties. If I could I would lock us away for the entire night but that would leave this world’s delegates to the mercy of Slera and Allura.” Jon laughed and Deralyct kissed him again.

“They wouldn’t survive the night.” Jon said with a smile. It faded quickly though and Deralyct pulled back slightly to examine his face.

“What's wrong?” Deralyct asked, “Something is bothering you and it's not your outfit. Did Allura start prying again?" Jon smiled and shook his head.

“No, no. Allura didn’t do anything wrong its just,” He paused before continuing, “I don't understand why it's necessary. I’m just a slave,” Jon put a hand gently over Deralyct’s mouth to silence his protest, “I’m your slave yes but what I mean is...I’m human and I’m going to be human in a party filled with demons. No ones going to notice I exist when I'm standing next to you or Slera or Allura. I don’t need to stand out. I just need to stay by your side.”

“Your much more than a slave.” Deralyct said removing Jon’s hand gently and holding it in his own, “Even if your a slave from their perspective I want you to know that you are so much more than that to me. You are mine and I want everyone at that party to know it. I don’t care if they stare as long as they know they can’t have you.” Deralyct smirked and his other hand came up to cup Jon’s back and pull him closer until they were resting chest to chest in the chair.

“Besides I think you underestimate your importance. When they arrive they aren’t going to want to talk to demons for very long. For the treaty sure and maybe out of curiosity but when they arrive and see how strange demons are they are going to be desperate for any sign of familiarity from us, the opposing side, and who would be better than you to be there as a welcome sign of humanity. The bridge between our worlds. They’ll talk business with me and all the other demons, ask a few questions, probably offend or become frightened of a few of us and then they will come looking for you. The one human who managed to come out ahead of the game and stand beside us as equals.” Deralyct kissed Jon again, deeper this time with more meaning, “My own little deal maker.”

“I don’t know if I can do that.” Jon said, “I’m terrible at talking with people and they won’t understand. None of them could understand how and why I did what I did and they’ll be just as curious and offensive to me as they are with you-”

“And I will be there to handle anyone who gets out of hand.” Deralyct said, “I’m not asking you to sell out this world. It no longer as any claim on you. But as the one who will enter the room at my side and who I will proudly claim as mine and as a human they will take a natural interest in you. They will ask for your story and you can tell them as much or as little as you want.” Deralyct stood holding Jon bridal in his arms and walked to the bed.

“But the party is not today or tomorrow and you are tired.” Deralyct laid Jon down gently and sat beside him on the bed. “Sleep now and I will join you soon.” Jon grabbed Deralyct’s hand and sat up pulling him closer. He hugged around Deralyct’s neck and the Demon King’s wings unfurled and wrapped around them both, shielding them from the outside world.

“I’m so glad I found you.” Jon said into Deralyct’s neck. The demon Lord huffed and wrapped his arms around Jon in return under the cover of his wings. The Demon Lord allowed himself to fall onto the bed landing awkwardly and with Jon on top of him. Jon sat up as Deralyct’s wings unfurled and straddled the Demon King's chest, his legs too small to fall onto the bed on either side of the demon king.

From beneath him Jon could feel the Demon King’s heart beating beneath him as he looked down on the content Demon. From below Deralyct watched Jon sitting over him all softness and gentle and warm. The light from the fire gave the human an almost heavenly silhouette and Deralyct’s breathing hitched watching him. Deralyct reached up and pulled Jon down for another kiss.

“Perhaps I’ll join you now.” Deralyct said turning onto his side. Jon fell gracelessly to the bed with a short laugh before shuffling closer to Deralyct who opened up his arm to pull Jon closer. He wrapped around Jon carefully until the human was surrounded by his body and shared his body heat to fight back the night’s chill. “When we wake we’ll train again.” Deralyct said. Jon groaned beside him but inched closer until he was touching Deralyct’s bare chest.

“Is it too late to go back to being your slave and not having to train?” Jon asked from inside Deralyct’s embrace. Deralyct chuckled and settled down beside Jon as they both closed there eyes Deralyct responded softly.

“I love you too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel obligated to cry and beg for forgiveness. I started a new job recently and before I knew it a month ad passed between updates. I believe this story will only have two more chapters and I promise you won't have to wait two months for an update! Also sorry if it seems less edited than before/as more grammar and spelling mistakes than usual I was determined to not let another day pass between updates but I couldn't stay awake much longer without passing out.
> 
> p.s. fuck of Slera you cock-blocking warmongerer  
> p.s.s someone should monitor Allura's internet activity


	13. A Hell of a Ball

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The peace talks start off with a ball and Jon isn't happy about all the attention, especially when one of the guests starts acting up. A dance ends with a global reveal and Jon decides his new normal is the best one for him.

“You look amazing.”

I didn’t feel it so I didn’t answer Deralyct right away as I inspected myself in the mirror. I pulled at the slightly too tight high collar of my coat with a wince. Allura liked clothes that hugged and I felt positively constricted by the outfit but even I had to admit the morning combat practice helped me fill out what little space the suit provided even if I was unsure how much it actually helped me prepare for battle.

Besides its airway restricting collar that hugged right underneath my jawbone the coat fit snugly down my torso and abdomen until my waist where it fell to about my knees like a bastardized penguin tuxedo with matching black pants and shoes. The entire outfit was black fitted with gold buttons and embroidery and truthfully made me look like a knock off Disney villain. Deralyct’s personal symbol was embroidered in red over my heart and a questionable sleeve alteration left my forearm bare so all could see Deralyct’s symbol on my arm

The worst part of the ensemble was the jewelry. Every finger on both hands had at least one ring glistening in the light and on my head a thin but deceptively heavy circlet of engraved white gold kept my oh so carefully teased hair in check. Deralyct called it status I called it gaudy but I wore it anyway when I saw the way his eyes lit up hungrily at my full ensemble.

My thoughts were interrupted by a large pair of hands that encircled my chest from behind and pulled me back into a tight but welcome hug. Deralyct had shrunk down for the occasion after I convinced him that walking into the ballroom as a ten foot god of war was a bad idea for fermenting international relations.  
I told him going in as a seven and a half foot god of war wasn't much better but he had refused to shrink further much to my amusement. I sighed and leaned back into him, closing my eyes, and let myself forget about the party and focus in on his heartbeat.

I didn’t do well in crowds. I didn’t like the spotlight and it didn’t like me. Anytime I stood where people could see me it was always a negative experience and here I was about to stand in the most attention grabbing outfit I had ever worn in front of a group of powerful and influential people. I took another deep breath before turning in Deralyct’s grasp and hugging him back.

Deralyct’s outfit was much better looking than mine but then I might be biased on that account. Everything looked good on Deralyct. His suit was carefully tailored to his demonic attributes and what was probably the grandest assortment of gems I had ever seen adorned his body, even his tail wore carefully crafted rings that jingled lightly with its every movement.

“Can’t I change back into something less...exciting.”I asked hopefully, my words muffled by his chest, Deralyct chuckled at my choice of words and kissed the top of my head.

“No time.” He said pulling away and taking my hand, “We only have a few minutes before we are expected and it would be rude to keep everyone waiting.” A knock on the door stopped any further complaining and Slera opened the door cautiously, peeking through the crack she had made before opening it fully. Apparently Deralyct had had a word with her after the last time she barged in and she was taking his words seriously.

She was free of her usually armor but her dress was more functional than fashionable despite its obvious quality. I jealously noticed she wasn’t being forced to wear anything that would draw undue attention to her but I finally conceded that it was probably for the best if Slera didn’t get a lot of attention. She didn’t need armor or a weapon to do serious damage to anyone who pissed her off and her social skills were tanked even compared to mine.

Behind her Allura strutted into the room wearing...well, exactly what I had come to expect from her. The skinny dress was barely a strip running down her breasts and navel to hide her most sensitive parts before falling into thin, short, veils of silk that did very little to hide anything at all.

Granted it was less revealing than I had expected but I felt a sudden inkling of hope that between Deralyct and the generals I would be able to slip between the cracks of the human representatives attention despite my appearance.

Deralyct led me out of the room tailed by Slera and Allura. Demon attendants ran to and fro through the halls carrying platters of carefully chosen appetizers and drinks to quench the thirst and appetites of our guests. As we walked the rush slowed to a pause and the demons bowed as we passed and I stepped closer to Deralyct to hide from their looks of reverence. I tried my best to keep my head high but an embarrassed flush ran over my cheeks at the respect Deralyct commanded and shared with me.

Could I do this? Among the demons it was easy, they knew if they acted up Deralyct would turn them into unsightly paste, but it was never easy with human beings. You couldn't throw someone into the stockade for talking back or use someone as target practice just because they tried to off you. I was never good at reading intentions or making myself seem to be on equal footing with them. I was always the one left behind or, more accurately, the one who let himself get left behind. I was never good at hanging out and small talk or any of the other skills this entire night hitched on and I doubted the social skills I acquired during my time with Deralyct would carry over very well into human culture.

I felt a gentle squeeze on my hand and looked up at Deralyct. He caught my gaze out of the corner of his eye and winked at me. I smiled and looked ahead and squeezed his hand back. The weight on my shoulders lifted enough for me to take a deep breath as we came up to the ballroom doors and I steeled myself against the sounds of the large crowd behind them.

The massive doors opened to a ballroom adorned in a way I could only describe as opulent. The various conversations fell silent as everyone turned to look at us as we entered and I felt my anxiety spike as we looked over the crowd of people in front of me. It felt strange to see so many important people I didn’t recognize in one room. A few faces I could see were vaguely familiar like I had seen their ads on TV or on signs in peoples front yards but despite the fact we had shared the same world before Deralyct entered our lives I had no idea who anyone was and I was struck by alone I was even with all these humans around me.

I scanned the crowd and realized that despite the two gorgeous demoness’ beside me and the God of War holding my hand many of the eyes were watching...me. I fought my instinctual reaction to smile wildly and laugh at the awkward attention and instead forced a small, polite, smile on my face. That was when I noticed a voice speaking in the back of the crowd and when I located the voice I felt my blood run cold.

I couldn’t see it very clearly behind the group but that was definitely a camera, the kind used to cover news footage, with all its attendant lights and microphones. No one had said anything about the news! I had thought this was a closed affair but apparently someone had weaseled an agreement from Deralyct to let the media document the event. I was barely managing to keep my cool just walking into the room with hundreds of people watching me I wasn’t sure I could handle the pressure of millions, maybe billions, of people watching through the camera lens.

Deralyct barely paused and half pulled, half led me along towards the crowd. The first couple bravely stepped forward and I put forward a brave face and managed not to wince as I let go of Deralyct’s hand to focus on introductions. I was quickly lost in the waves of faces and names that I couldn’t quite remember.

I soon found myself alone among the humans and much more calm mostly, if not fully, because I realized that the scrutiny I was under was less judgmental and more...stupid.

“So what kind of demon are you?” A nameless but apparently important politician asked with a giggle from what I assumed was his third wife. I smiled and raised my glass of wine to him.

“The human kind.” I said taking a sip to stave off the bitter taste in my mouth before handing it off to one off to a demon who bowed before moving away. So far no one had asked a single interesting question but I supposed Deralyct was right about me being the center of attention. I hadn’t had a moment of peace since the night began and it was seriously beginning to strain my reserves of patience.

“I thought all the humans had been enslaved.” A new voice said just out of my field of vision, I turned enough to inspect the new intruder on my personal space. Copy paste suit but flashy teal tie a small bulge under suit coat that hinted at a microphone and an easy smile on a well dressed face with peppered hair and a short goatee. The man reached out his hand and I carefully grasped it. His hand was warm and slightly damp and now that I had noticed it I saw a similar sheen adorning his forehead.

“Chase Wehther.” He said introducing himself loud enough to be heard clearly over the din like he had been to many of these events before and instinctively knew the proper volume for being heard without yelling. I suppose he expected me to recognize him from somewhere but before I could ask he continued.

“You must be the infamous servant of war I’ve heard so much about.” he said. I laughed, the sound cut through the air, and I noticed Deralyct look my way out of the corner of my eye. I couldn’t help it, no one had called me that before and I was caught completely off guard by the absurdity of the statement. Chase, as well as the couple I had been talking to before, looked shocked by my outburst but warily chuckled along with me.

“Servant of war?” I finally managed, “I can’t say anyone has called me that before. What exactly are people saying about me?” I said and made a mental note to talk to Allura, the most likely responsible party for the moniker, about giving me titles that made me sound like a warlord. Chase recovered quickly and stood up straight and cleared his throat.

“I’ve been talking to senators and the demon caterers when I can and I can’t seem to get a clear story from anyone to explain why exactly your here.” He motioned at Deralyct and I glanced in his direction. His back was now turned to us but he was holding at least a dozen politicians in his sway as he spoke. “All I can really gather is that title and the fact you’re the demon lords personal servant.”

“Demon King actually.” I corrected with a smile turning my attention back to Chase. He raised his eyebrow at my statement but continued.

“So what exactly is your role in the demon hierarchy?” He asked when a slightly malicious glint filled his eyes, “Do you regret turning your back on the rest of humankind?” my smile fell as I noticed a small group of people had noticed the exchange and had began to gather around the two of us. A women gasped at the bluntness of the question. I felt a small smile creep back over my face and I struggled to speak around the dryness of my throat.

“I don't owe you an explanation for how I got here Mr. Wehther. I did what I had to to survive and I came out ahead.” despite my best efforts I couldn’t fully keep the venom from my voice.

“But you're clearly on the demon’s side.” Chase pressed, “They wouldn’t strap you into that ridiculous suit and jewels if you weren’t important so I really have to ask, just out of curiosity, what you did?” He had mostly abandoned all pretense of civility at this point and had gotten closer and despite being slightly taller I refused to back down as he used those extra few inches to look down his nose at me.

“People have been wondering how exactly they opened those portals.” He said, loud enough for everyone around us to hear. “You gotta wonder, you coming in here on the demon lord- excuse me demon KINGS arm with all that god and jewels, if you weren’t the one who brought them here in the first place.” The crowd around us gasped openly and I waited for the chatter to die before I responded. I closed my eyes for a moment and when they opened I hit Chase with the same look I used to intimidate demons.

Chase blanched and fell back onto his ass as I took a step forward pushing him to the ground without touching him by sheer presence alone. The incident drew the attention of the entire room. I barely noticed the surrounding silence as I looked down at the man quivering on the floor.

“I had nothing to do with the portals opening.” I said loud enough for everyone to hear, “I have lost just as much as anyone and paid the price for my position. I will not tolerate your baseless accusations.” I stepped back but kept my eyes on him, keeping him glued to the floor, “Stand up.” I said with a slight sneer, “you’re dirtying the floor.” Chase picked himself up quickly and walked away with a red face. The crowd began to dissipate around me now that the incident was over and a couple brave souls stepped forward to offer words of apology for his conduct. I tried to be as civil as possible but the last of my patience had been burned and now I needed a few moments to myself to recharge or I was going to start throwing people off the balcony.

A familiar massive form pushed away the last of the well wishers as Deralyct came up behind me and turned me around with a gentle touch on my shoulder. I felt myself relax nominally now that he was by my side again and took a step closer to him to fully enjoy his comforting presence. He looked around at the people hovering nearby trying to overhear us and reached out a hand to me and nodded to the dance floor. I had been avoiding it the entire night, mostly due to lack of skill or a partner, but if it meant relative privacy with Deralyct I was willing to risk being known as the demon worshiper who stepped on the Demon King’s feet.

I took his hand and let him lead me to the dance floor. I ignored the resulting stairs as he made a small motion with his hand. The current background song stopped and a few moments later a new song had begun. Deralyct carefully positioned us his hand on my shoulder and waist although I had to stand close for him to reach. I reached my hand up to his shoulder and his left hand held my right gently as he took the lead.

“You seemed like you need a break.” He said low enough that only I could hear once we had gone through the first few steps without incident. I sighed and let my head rest on his chest as he led me through a very basic dance we had practiced a few times in the days leading up to the ball. I could already feel my patience reserves recharging, stealing energy from Deralyct’s seemingly bottomless reserve, and I let myself forget where we were for a moment to enjoy being close to him.

“I'm sorry. I shouldn’t have lost my temper.” I said back as I fell into a light dip. His tail came around and wrapped around my waist and I stepped a little closer until my chest was almost flush with his as I rose back up. “I knew that there would be a few people like that but I was still caught off guard. I just-” I sighed, “I just need a little time to recover.”

“The song isn’t over yet.” He said as we swung around slowly, “Just let yourself relax. Besides,” He smiled at me devilishly, “I guarantee that watching you send the Governor to the floor is the best part of this night no matter what the talks achieve.” I groaned into his chest as he laughed softly.

“That explains his behavior. He lost a lot of votes when you showed up.” I said with a sheepish smile. He nodded toward something behind me and as we swung I caught the news camera pointed directly at us. I felt my face heat up and I looked away quickly.

“They caught the whole thing.” He said as I hid my mortified face in his chest, “I could have a copy of the footage so you can see how magnificent you looked standing over him. My little servant of war.” I pulled my face away from him and looked up at him, mouth wide.

“I thought that was Allura.” I said as he smiled down at me, “Why exactly do I have a title now?”

“I needed a way to refer to you as something other than a slave and servant alone does not convey the right amount of importance. Also I doubted you would want me to refer to you my lover.” I snuck a glance at the room around us and saw more than a few pairs of eyes staring at us from the sidelines. I further noticed that most of the other dancers had vacated the dance floor leaving us alone in its center. I caught Allura breathing excitedly and hugging herself in the back as she watched us dance and frowned. Maybe someone should be keeping an eye on her.

“It think they already figured it out.” I said with a loud whisper as Deralyct took his own survey of the room around us.

“I suspect you are right.” He said before looking back down at me with sly, narrowed, eyes and a smirk. The song began to wind down and before I could detach from his arms as the final notes died down he descended. The kiss was chaste but it was sudden and I barely had time to react before he pulled away with a mischievous smirk.

I smiled like an idiot at the resulting chattering noise and I saw the news women had stopped mid speech and was now staring at us in shock like a fish. I heard Allura whoop once behind us and then Slera silencing her and I laughed. I pulled Deralyct down and kissed him again before extracting myself from his arms and putting a few steps between us. I bowed to him and thanked him for the dance. He bowed in return with the same twinkle in his eye and we both turned away from each other to divide and conquer the room.

The faces in the crowd looked thoroughly intimidated as I approached and I smiled wide enough that it might have seemed predatory. As I entered the crowd I felt none of the worry and anxiety I felt the first time I entered this room. I had only been thinking only of myself before, now I was thinking about Deralyct. His strength was my strength and together we were going to change the world.

Earlier this year I gave up everything to a Demon King to save my family. Everything but my heart but he has managed to take that anyway and I couldn’t think of a safer place for it. He has changed me, shown me the best parts of myself and how strong I can be. I almost died and was saved, fell apart and got put back together, and I found a new family to replace the one I lost.

I am Jon, maker of deals, servant of war, and lover of Deralyct and I wouldn’t trade my new life for anything in the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi.
> 
> I'm just going to start by saying sorry because I definitely promised I wouldn't make you wait a month for an update then I totally did.
> 
> Also THIS IS THE END OF THE STORY!!!! There will be one more chapter but it will contain only smut so if you don't want/like to read that you don't have to AGAIN next chapter is a lemon and will not forward the story!
> 
> Also you guys may have noticed in the comments I mentioned I wanted to redo this story but make it better (clean it up, actual editing, more scenes/chapters etc.) that is still the plan but I have to state that I would probably post that version as a separate story and that it will take a loooong time. so long I will probably do it all then post it as a complete work instead of installments.
> 
> Thank you all for your support throughout this story. I didn't expect it get near this much attention and all your kind words helped me finish it even though I kinda failed you guys at the finish line. This is only the beginning and I hope I see you all in future works I post and, again, THANK YOU ALL! Your kind words and suggestions helped a lot in helping me be motivated to finish the story. I honestly cannot believe all the support I got for a story I assumed would get like 100 views at most even after I completed it.


	14. The Promised Conclusion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The party a success the two love birds retire to finally consummate their relationship.

I pulled the gaudy coat off my body as soon as the night was over. The jewelry was tossed carelessly on the desk and I flexed my sore fingers now that they were free from the metal prisons and I stretched with a grateful groan as I regained my full body motion ability.

“I’m so glad that's over.” I said in my undershirt and pants. The evening had been a complete success, according to Allura, but that didn’t stop me from being glad I no longer had to wear such restrictive and heavy clothing and jewelry.

“Don't be too happy.” Deralyct said peeling off his own suit, a process I thoroughly enjoyed watching “It was only the first night of many and now that the world knows where you stand in the demon world they are going to want to talk to you even more.” I groaned. That meant more gaudy clothes, more talking, and more assholes.

“What could I know that they could possibly be curious about?” I said with a pout. I approached Deralyct who raised his tail to me. Carefully I began to remove the rings of precious metal and jewels that adorned it. “I don’t even know very much about demons or your history beyond what Allura told me when I first came to you.”

“That is true.” Deralyct ceded his chest now bare and his clothing discarded as he turned to me. The motion pulled his tail out of my grasp before I could get the last ring off and I bent down. This kiss was gentle and drawn out and I leaned into it. “But I can answer those questions. I'm fairly certain that they want to know more about your connection to me.” He said when it was over and I laughed as I responded.

“What connection could that be?” I asked lightly, turning away and kicking off my shoes. “I’ve never even seen you naked before.” Silence met my tease as I realized what I had said sounded more raunchy than I intended. I turned around just in time for Deralyct to step forward and lift me up by my waist. I had only managed to get one shoe off but the motion sent the other flying off my foot and into the corner of the room as I was laid firmly but gently on the bed.

My face was completely red both from the Allura levels of innuendo my comment had unintentionally been laden with and also my proximity to Deralyct and the way he was looking at me.

The Demon King was leering over me so that my full vision was filled with his body, designed for physical pursuits, but my gaze was directed at his face which looked down at me with a smirk, his eyes lit by that fire behind them as they traveled slowly over the human trapped beneath him.

“Never seen me naked?” he said with a rumble. He leaned closer and I squeaked as he climbed onto the bed on top of me. “That's an odd thing to say. As if I didn’t notice you staring in the shower, or when I was undressing just now.”

Deralyct had reduced his size to be less intimidating to the human guests at the party and had yet to return to his true ten foot height but even at a mere seven and a half feet he still loomed over me in a way that made me tremble with excitement. I went red and tried to stammer out a response which he silenced with another kiss this one deeper and more hungry.

I gasped for air when he pulled away but I leaned up after him, sad to see him go, and eager for the heat he let off so easily and ignited in me.

“That said.” he said getting off the bed, “I’ve been watching you too and I love what I've seen.” He said in a deep murmur as both his hands moved to his waist and the button holding it snugly to his waist. I was too stunned to react consciously but I sat up to watch the scene unfold as in my own pants I began to harden. He pulled away the pants slowly and my breath hitched in anticipation.

Partially aroused already as the pants fell unnoticed to the ground his length bounced up once freed from its confinement and pointed directly at me. Deralyct moved back onto the bed but my eyes were glued to the swaying length between his legs as he approached me, crouching low and moving with dangerous intent to my still frozen form.

His member was built similar to any humans but textured in a way no one could hope to compete with. When he got close enough he laid on his side beside me and motioned me closer to explore with a come hither motion of one of his claws. Broken from the spell I obeyed and as I approached Deralyct lay on his back giving me full access to what I hoped I would be getting very acquainted with very soon.

I tentatively grabbed it with one hand using the other to stabilize myself as I leaned over Deralyct, the hand pressing down on his thigh and receiving no give from the hard muscle beneath it. The smell in the room had become intense suddenly. I was already familiar with the way Deralyct usually smelled, like metal and fire, not smoke, fire, but now it was layered with something else that I was instinctively aware of and responding to but couldn’t quite place.

Deralycts member was long with a slight upward curve. Two lines of bumps that reminded me of a jacob's ladder ran along the bottom. The foreskin was pulled back to reveal a more pointed tip than a human penis and I became briefly entranced with this feature, my thumb moving the foreskin up and down over his head, rubbing the glans there.

The smell intensified and this close to its source I realized it was pure, concentrated, arousal and I took a deep, if shuddering breath, as I let it affect me hardening in my pants uncomfortably but I ignored my own needs to focus on what lay in front of me.

Deralyct’s skin was smooth as silk but hard and ungiving as stone so finding a place on his body where his skin could move so freely was both surprising and exciting to play with. Deralyct growled quietly at my cursory exploration and a small bead of liquid collected at the tip of his penis running down the bottom to where my thumb massaged just underneath the head. The liquid was hot but not painful or unpleasant as it made contact with my skin and I used the liquid to make my thumbs motions even smoother.

I briefly abandoned the tip and foreskin of the penis to massage and explore the rest of the shaft. Beyond the two bottom ridges I could feel further texture underneath the skin of the penis and as I slowly stroked I could see his member slowly change as those other textures expanded under the skin to subtly change the shape of his penis into something unlike anything I was familiar with.

Underneath his member and hanging heavily between his open thighs laid Deralyct’s testicles. The skin strained under the weight of them and the whole sac flexed as I stroked as if even my minor ministrations were enough to bring Deralyct to the edge. The sac was soft and smooth as my hands left the shaft to explore it and a small line of fleshy spikes rang down the middle between the two obsidian orbs. Even with Deralyct’s slightly smaller than normal form I struggled to hold them in one hand and so I carefully held and massaged them, one in each hand, as Deralyct growled louder and his hips thrust instinctively making his shaft bob and another bead of precum exited the tip.

This drop wasn’t wasted as it slid slowly down the underside of his shaft. I gently laid his orbs down and returned to his shaft one hand again steadied myself as I leaned over it the other held his shaft steady as I brought my head down and licked his shaft from where it connected to his sac all the way to the tip catching the escaped liquid as I went.

It tasted strongly of musk and slightly of copper and I found another bead welling just beneath the surface of his tip as my tongue reached it and I suckled the tip slightly to get at it. When the slit opened again I dragged my tongue across the opening and Deralyct gasped, one of his massive hands rising to hold the back of my head. Not pushing me further but not letting me pull away either, not that I had any intention of pulling away.

If anything the hand encouraged me to take him slightly deeper and I slowly began to bob my hand around the head and foreskin using my mouth and tongue the same way I had used my thumb earlier to massage the glans there. He gave a shuddering breath that trailed out into a growl as his hand slackened and let me come off his dick a thin line of saliva connected me to it before I wiped my mouth to smile up at him.

“Is it as good as you imagined?” he asked with a growl, gazing down at me hungrily his eyes glowing bright enough it almost hurt to meet them. I crawled over his body, relishing the feel of his body under my hands, until I reached his head. I kissed his lips chastity before his hand grabbed the back of my head again and pulled me in for a deeper, hungrier, kiss. His tongue briefly met mine and I wondered if he was trying to taste himself before he pulled away.

“Better.” I said my breath, heavy and low. I was acutely aware that his member was still hard and begging for attention behind me and I turned to continue my administrations. He grabbed me before I could and set me down on my back and then climbed over me. With a growl he tore the shirt from my body and tossed it aside. He moved down on me kissing my chest and stomach as he made his way down to my still clothed nether regions.

Looking up at me mischievously he gently bit at my own hard member through my pants hard enough that I could feel the gentle scrape of teeth. I gasped at the contact and I heard him chuckle as I threw my head back before he grabbed my pants and pulled, not bothering to undo the button which broke as he impatiently revealed me to his hungry gaze.

Now that I was as naked as him he took a moment to look down at my modest form and growled in appreciation. One of his hands carefully palmed my member as the other lifted my upper body up for another kiss and I groaned into his mouth as the heat from his hand enveloped my most sensitive parts in multi faceted heat.

He lowered me back to the bed as both his hands worked to move my legs apart and his massive head descended. Still making eye contact with me he opened his mouth and licked my shaft, his tongue so large it engulfed the entire thing in wet, smooth, warmth. I gasped and bucked up at his tongue and he chuckled as he continued his teasing. Then his tongue curled around my dick so it stood up and he took the entire length into his mouth.

I cursed and grabbed his head by the horns as he held me in his mouth barely moving. He gave me a few moments to get used to the new sensation before slowly began to bob his mouth up and down. From the tight seal his lips made around me to the heat and wetness of his mouth I could only say that it felt like heaven, a slightly ironic description given who was giving me the blowjob.

Once I found his rhythm I slowly thrust my hips to meet him when he went down and together we moved like that as the pleasure began to slowly build in my core. Before I got too close he released me with one last suck.

“You taste better than any wine.” He said as he raised himself to kiss me again. “Better than any meal.” he kissed my neck and gently nibbled there, “better than victory.”, his mouth continued to kiss and nibble down my body as he talked. “Better than anything I have ever tasted.” I hummed at the praise and blushed hiding my face with my hands. He gently removed them and held them over my head as he kissed me again this time gently and for longer, "Don't hide yourself," he whispers into my neck, "You're beautiful when you blush."

Then he laid down beside me and gently pulled me over him so that I straddled his waist, his dick gently poking my back and the entirety of his broad chest open to my exploration. He raised his arms and tucked them behind his head as he looked down at my smugly but I could still see the hunger in him as he watched me lean over and worship him.

Trying to copy him I worked kissing and biting gently, although my teeth were hardly strong enough to break his skin, and licking, tasting the sweat and body of him as each and every muscle I could reach received its due. He moaned and sighed as I worked, speaking quiet praises as I worked as soon I felt him shift under me, gently thrusting, the look on his face glowering and hungry.

Looking back I saw that his dick had not been idle and now a slow but steady stream of pre had started to slide down the shaft. Looking up at his face I bit my lip and turned around straddling him on my hands and knees so that I could give his dick more attention he growled behind me and I felt a hand come up to gentle rub against my ass now that he had full access to it.

I licked the tip and opened my mouth wide, closing it over the tip and began to work my way down. There was no chance of me getting the whole thing down my throat, not on my first go, but I made a valiant effort to fit at least half before my gag reflex made it impossible to continue. Once I was at my limit I slowly pulled up licking and tasting the shaft and its healthy supply of juices until only the head was still in my mouth. I grabbed the shaft at the point I had reached my limit and started to bob my head up and down, licking and tasting as I went, until I had a steady rhythm going.

Deralyct moaned and thrust occasionally as I worked but never enough to push me beyond what I could handle and while I was busy getting him off he started to play with the part of me I had put on display for him.

Both of his hands grabbed me by the waist pulling my lower half closer to him so He could get better access to me. Each hand grabbing one of my ass cheeks and pulling them apart to reveal my hole I felt heat as his head moved closer and briefly lost my flow as his tongue licked slowly from the base where my balls connected to my body to my clenching hole.

I heard a muffled chuckle at my reaction before he began to taste me in earnest, steady strokes focused on the tight entrance as I tried to keep my attention on the delicious shaft In front of me. I relaxed into the attention and began to slowly thrust back against his tongue moving back and forth as we worked together for both our pleasure. I leaned back off his dick and closer to his tongue then forward to take him further into my mouth as his tongue stroke finished. Over and over we continued this process until as I leaned into his tongue he did more than lick at my entrance.

Deeming me loosened enough from the attention his tongue barely pierced the ring of muscle and I gasped. Pulling off his dick with a pop to look back at him in surprise and irritation at the lack of warning. He chuckled at me and winked before thrusting again, gently but firmly deeper into me. I lowered the upper half of my body and focused on staying loose and relaxed for him as the unfamiliar but not unpleasant sensation of his tongue inside me made my body instinctively want to clench and push it out despite the growing pleasure it built in me.

Looking down at the saliva moistened dick in front of me a devious plan of my own filled my mind. Looking back and seeing him focused on the tight and tasty hole in front of him I returned to his dick licking and stroking it.

One of my hands went down to his balls and began to massage them. He rumbled at the new sensation in a way I could feel ripple through my body, mostly due to the contact between us, and I bit my lip to try and control myself as the vibrations along with his tongue worked me closer to the edge.

A small pool of my precum had collected on his chest as we had worked and I briefly pulled my hand from his sac and gave myself a few strokes coaxing a few more drops from my body and then collected them on my fingers. Careful not to get too much on his testicles, I knew I would need as much of it as possible for what I was planning, I once again began to rub and squeeze them until he had been lulled into the new motions. Lifting his sack I took a deep breath and, using my precum soaked middle finger, stuck it into the hole I found there.

He growled loudly and tensed up and I dared not move my finger any further. I looked back at him over my shoulder and winked. He glared at me but rolled his eyes before shoving his tongue in another inch to get back at me. I groaned at the added pressure but returned to his shaft and much harder action considering I could no longer hold myself up with one hand and stroke him with my other.

Once he relaxed I slowly moved my middle finger back and forth only a quarter of an inch or so in his hole. He growled again but thrust back into my mouth and back onto the finger so I dared push it in to the second knuckle.

Inside of Deralyct was hot and tight as to be expected but surprisingly accommodating and so I took the opportunity to rub my finger against any interesting things I could find as I slowly thrust it in and out of him. I felt him remove his tongue, cleaning up the mess of saliva he had made with one final lick before one of his hands moved from holding my ass open to pressing a finger against my loosened entrance.

“I should punish you for that.” He said with false anger, his tone and face held no malice. In response I slowly pushed my ring finger alongside my middle finger inside him as I stroked and he groaned loudly pushing back against my thrusting fingers. His own finger entered me and I stopped moving to focus on staying relaxed for the intrusion. 

“God Deralyct.” I said as he thrust it in and out of me the work his tongue had done had both loosened my up and lubricated me with his saliva so the fingers progress was more or less unhindered despite how big it was. He growled lustily again and gave me a particularly long and hard stroke that rocked my body slightly.

“I love hearing you moan my name.” He rumbled keeping up the slightly faster pace. I knew I should go back to giving him pleasure in return for what he was doing for me but that finger had me completely distracted. Seeing the position I was in Deralyct pulled the finger from me and sat up my fingers leaving him and placing me on the bed on my back.

Just like when we had begun he leaned over me but this time he moved my legs apart and looked down at the work he had done on my hole. He growled hungrily as he watched it wink at him and I blushed at my own inability to stop it from doing so. It felt so dirty to be so loose and open but I couldn’t help feeling proud that such a small part of me could reduce Deralyct to a rumbling pleasure hungry beast.

He positioned himself closer and for the first time I got a real comparison on how difficult it was going to be to get us to fit together. Deralyct thrust against me a few times, his dick sliding between my cheeks and over my hole rubbing it in a way that made me moan.

“I’ll go slow.” He reassured me as he leaned closer, kissing me and grabbing his dick to press it against me. He slowly increased the pressure until my loosened hole opened enough for the head of him to push in. He stopped and held it there as I gasped and we both waited for my body to overcome the shock of the initial penetration.

I took a deep breath and nodded at him and he slowly began to descend his hips towards mine, stopping every few minutes or if I told him to wait until somehow his hips pressed against mine the weight of his sack resting against my ass and the pressure...indescribable but so good.

He was breathing heavy and I could feel the heat and sweat coming off him in waves as he forced himself to slowly begin to pull out. I moaned as the pressure in my lower region lessened along with the pleasure and I unconsciously thrust back at him to try and get it back. He chuckled and kissed me and stopped when only a quarter of him had been removed before he started to push in again.

He set this slow and languid pace until he was able to do so without my body clutching around him dangerously then he pulled out until half of him was gone and thrust back in, slightly harder and faster but still waiting for my body to adjust. Consciously I was glad for the slow pace and intimate way he held and looked down at me as he thrust but a deeper part of me wanted something more primal. I promised it silently that it would get its wish once I could handle that level of roughness but it did little to silence the voice and I decided to take a small risk.

As he had slowly and gently made love to me Deralyct himself had descended so our bodies were pressed together, my arms wrapped around his neck and his arms holding me in place as he thrust. This position didn’t give me much room to manoeuvre but with careful timing as he thrust back in I pushed back making him thrust in harder than he had been planning. He paused and looked down at me in shock, not thrusting, waiting to see if I had hurt myself with the move but when it became obvious I was fine Deralyct smirked and kissed me before he took off the training wheels.

This new pace was much harder and faster and I focused on my breathing as slowly I began to lose my mind. The feeling of him so deep inside me and the pull of my ring against him, especially the lines of bumps along the bottom of his shaft, was heavenly. As his pace continued to quicken I could feel him change inside me. Those hidden textures under the skin that I had found at the beginning of the night making themselves known as he became more and more aroused and pressing against my insides in new ways as the fucking progressed.

Deralyct had lost all semblance of cool, although he maintained his composure enough not to do anything that would hurt me, it was clear his one and only goal was making sure I couldn't walk in the morning and I loved him for it. Every thrust was met by a gasp or moan from me as he growled and rumbled like a beast, his crown of fire starting to rise from his head and the heat he naturally gave off rising gradually and only compounded from the piece of him moving and giving off heat inside me.

He was pressed so close I could feel every ridge and valley of muscle on his chest as he moved. The air had become sickeningly thick with the sounds and smells of sex and the loud pap pap pap of his balls making sweating contact with my ass on every thrust was like a dirty metronome setting the pace for the evenings conclusion. The sound was made filthier as his precum leaked out of the edges of my hole and down my ass adding a wetness to each thrust as his balls became covered in it.

Every thrust pushed and pulled against every button and sensitive area inside me and I felt myself slowly being unraveled. Between the rough pace and the press of his body against my dick I wasn't going to hold out for much longer and my mind was slowly losing the will to fight against blowing my load between us. It seemed like Deralyct was in a similar space, his teeth clenched and breathing heavy over me as he tried to outlast me despite the tight confines of the hole I had given him for his pleasure.

I came with a shout as each thrust forced another shot out of me, the heavy build up of sexual fluids that had been growing since our initial foreplay being forced out of my body by Deralyct’s unwavering attention. My own needs met Deralyct didn’t bother holding back anymore and despite my how sensitive I was from my orgasm I felt myself reach that height again as his thrusts quickened as he chased that peak. After only a few minutes he thrust in one last time with a roar, the textures in his dick expanding suddenly to hold him in place and press against every part of me as he filled me.

His balls tensed against me as he ground against my hips filling my body with cum. Hot and heavy it coated my insides and I immediately began to sweat even more than I had during our love making, the heat of it so intense that I could feel it changing my internal temperature. He ground against me and came for a long time before gasping and falling on me, barely not crushing me beneath his weight as he shakily caught himself with one of his arms.

Both of us gasped for air and he looked down at me lovingly and kissed me sloppily, both sweat and our heavy breathing preventing us from properly kissing each other. He pushed himself to the side, his dick exiting me with a slightly embarrassing squelch as fluids dribbled from my tired and most definitely sore ass, the textured muscles in his dick once more hidden from view and allowing him to exit now that they had deflated.

After a few minutes of catching our breath he chuckled and pulled me closer.

“I can’t believe it took us so long to do that.” he said laughing. I joined in and pulled myself lazily up.

“It’s definitely not what I was expecting when I said I gave you my body for our deal.” He laughed even harder, “Not that i'm complaining.” I amended as I laid against him. I looked down at the mess and sighed. “If we sleep in this it's going to be so gross in the morning.” He looked down and nodded in agreement.

“Most of my bedmates have been more...accommodating.” he said before nuzzling me with a happy rumble in his throat, “But one of them was as good as you.” I nuzzled back and hummed.

“I gotta say that was even better than I had hoped it would be.” He rumbled his assent and pulled away rising from the bed he began to walk to the shower and even as sexed out as I was I appreciated the view of him walking away and noticing with mild humor that we never had gotten that one ring of jewelry off his tail. At the door to the shower he looked back and raised an eye ridge at me.

“Aren’t you coming?”

“I can’t move my legs.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK. First off. Sorry. I know I've said that a lot (like for each of these later chapters) but this time really takes the cake as i am MONTHS past the promised upload date for this. So, again, sorry but in my defense I really thought I had already made and posted this chapter so shout out to Alma_Rohe who comment spammed this story when they read it and reminded me that I needed to get my shit together and write this.
> 
> The final chapter of this story thank you all for the support I hope this is OK as a smut chapter I know I enjoyed writing it.
> 
> Also in case no one has read the comment or has questions. Yes I on plan on rewriting the story in a way that has actual style and grammar but also allows me to have more chapters and more info on demons and Deralyct's backstory and hopefully a better conclusion to the story.
> 
> The reason the story seems to end so abruptly is because, as the author, the whole story was hinging on one thing. The two getting together, They got together and I never planned for any additional plot points after that so despite the fact as a reader the story continues on as the author it was over I had no plans to take it further and as such any attempts by me, at the time with no planning, to continue the story would see it drag on with no point or direction.
> 
> As this story got more attention then I thought it would I think my readers deserve something better written then the half-assed tale I wove on a lark and so, again, I AM planning on rewriting but that story will be written separately (as in this version will still be up and that story will be up at the same time just with a different name or 2.0 added) I will add a chapter to this story as an authors notice to tell people who bookmark/follow this story that I have posted that one but I need to say that that story is taking a LONG time to write as I am planning on posting it as a completed work rather than in chapter installments like this one.
> 
> Im so happy for all the support and i am sorry again I let you all down at the end.
> 
> Until next time.  
> Armatron


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